178 
M835 1 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


BY 

A.  L.  MORSE,  M.S. 


AN  ADVOCATE  OF 

GOSPEL  TEMPERANCE  EXTENSION 


INTRODUCTION 

BY 

M.  R.  DRURY,  D.D. 


DAYTON,  OHIO 
W.  J.  Shuey,  Publisher 

1897 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 
AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
BOOKSTACKS 


Copyright,  1895, 

By  A.  L.  Morse,  M.S. 

All  rights  reserved . 


DEDICATED 

TO 


D.  L.  MOODY 

UNDER  WHOSE  INFLUENCE  I RECEIVED 
THE  PROFOUND  INSPIRATION 
OF  MY  LIFE 
TO  ENGAGE  IN 

GOSPEL  TEMPERANCE  RESCUE  WORK 


PREFACE 


“Do  all  the  good  you  can, 

To  all  the  people  you  can, 

In  all  the  ways  you  can, 

As  long  as  ever  you  can. 

“ I expect  to  pass  through  this  world  but  once.  If,  there- 
fore, there  be  any  kindness  I can  do  to  any  fellow  human 
being,  let  me  do  it  now ; let  me  not  delay  nor  neglect  it,  for 
I will  never  pass  this  way  again.” 

Prompted  by  the  inspiring  sentiment  expressed  in  the 
above  lines,  these  pages  have  been  written ; and  whatever 
faults  the  book  may  have,  either  of  omission  or  commission, 
the  author  is  conscious  of  being  actuated  by  the  purest  of 
motives.  The  thought  of  living  in  this  world  of  change  and 
need,  with  its  golden  opportunities  passing  with  the  speed 
of  fleeting  time,  has  given  me  an  abiding  inspiration  in  my 
work  and  an  increasing  purpose  to  do  my  duty.  Thus  was 
the  book  conceived  in  thought  and  afterwards  brought  to 
completion. 

A gifted  writer,  with  a play  of  humor,  has  said:  “The 
dryest  things  of  which  I know  are  sawdust,  statistics,  and 
political  speeches.”  The  sawdust  of  useless  rubbish  has 
therefore  been  omitted,  statistics  have  been  but  little  used, 
and  political  speeches  have  been  forgotten  in  the  one  absorb- 
ing thought  to  express  the  red-hot  truths  that  have  burned 
and  glowed,  a consuming  flame  in  the  soul,  until,  like  the 
fires  within  the  heart  of  a pent-up  volcano,  they  could  no 
longer  be  suppressed.  Too  often  the  tolling  church-bell  has 
told  to  my  ears  the  story  of  one  I dearly  loved,  who  fell  in 
death  from  a secret  malady,  to  which,  for  the  sake  of  friends, 
the  physician,  in  his  death  certificate,  gave  some  name 
remote  in  meaning  from  the  real  disease.  Too  often  my 

V 


VI 


PREFACE 


eyes  have  seen  a thoughtless,  reckless  youth  of  respectable 
parents  reeling  to  his  home  of  luxury  after  sipping  wine 
with  companions  in  the  society  circle  or  at  a select  social 
club.  Too  often  have  my  olfactory  nerves  been  shocked 
by  the  odor  of  liquor  in  the  breath  of  those  whom  I never 
dreamed  tasted  or  touched  the  intoxicating  cup.  And  the 
more  awful  woes  of  the  hopelessly  lost  have  impelled  me 
to  work  and  write  and  speak  and  pray  for  the  removal  of 
the  dreadful  curse  of  intemperance , now  blighting  the  flower 
of  our  country’s  manhood, — the  seventh  plague  of  our  land . 
Therefore,  for  the  sake  of  the  multiplied  thousands  whom  I 
hope  to  see  saved  these  pages  have  been  written,  with  an 
earnest  prayer  that  every  reader  will  also  make  haste  to 
rescue  all  others  that  he  possibly  can,  and  prevent  from 
falling  those  in  danger  of  being  lost. 

A.  Morse. 

Chicago,  Illinois,  February  4, 1895. 


CONTENTS 


Preface 

Introduction 


5 

11 


CHAPTER  I. 
The  Golden  Rule. 


Jesus  and  His  Record  Among  Men  — Man's  Conviction 
of  Right  — Christlikeness — Sunlight  Prized — Ex- 
alted Esteem  of  the  Christ  Life— : The  Golden  Rule 
— Its  History — The  Youth  of  Twelve — The  Car- 
penter— The  Law  of  the  Jews — Christ’s  Golden 
Rule  vs.  Confucius’  Golden  Rule — The  Typical  Man 
— A Great  Life  Motto — Clay  — Douglas  — Lincoln 
— Humane  Feeling  Among  Humanity — A Practical 
Illustration — Charles  Dickens  in  Boyhood  — Union 
Soldiers  — Wounded  and  Dying — Genuine  Sym- 
pathy— Oliver  Cromwell’s  Mother — When  Jesus 
was  on  Earth — The  Golden  Rule  a Basis  for  Gospel 
and  Temperance  Work — Every  Disciple  of  Jesus 
Called  to  Work — Keeping  and  Living  the  Golden 


Early  Recollections — The  Voice  of  Conscience — The 
Voice  of  God  — Conversion — Call  to  the  Gospel 
Temperance  Work — Darkest  Chicago  and  New 
York — A Vivid  Picture  — An  Open-Day  Vision — 

An  Evil  “Common  Among  Men” — The  Holy  Bible 
God’s  Guide-Book  to  Heaven — The  Deck  of  Cards 
the  Devil’s  Guide-Book  to  Hell — The  Devil’s  Bev- 
erage of  Woe— The  Young  Man’s  Ruin  Plotted  - 33 


A Nation  of  Happy  Homes — The  American’s  Love  of 
Home  — The  Liquor  Traffic  an  Enemy  of  the  Home 

vii 


Rule 


17 


CHAPTER  II. 

A Vivid  Vision  of  Duty. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Modern  Seventh  Plague. 


vm 


CONTENTS 


— What  is  This  Seventh  Plague ? — The  Plague  of 
Disease — The  Deceitful  Savages — The  Plague  of 
Slavery — The  Plague  of  War  — The  Plague  of  Mor- 
monism — The  Lottery  Plague — Intemperance  the 
Seventh  Plague — “ In  God  We  Trust” — Intemperance 
Brings  Woe  Upon  the  Earth  — Intemperance  and 
Satan  Shall  be  Overcome 43 

CHAPTER  IV. 

An  Awakened  Church. 

The  Crosscut  to  the  Millennium — A Plague  in  Our 
Land — The  Church  f Asleep — Something  Must  be 
Done — Personal  Total  Abstinence — Gladstone’s 
Great  Declaration — Teetotaiism — The  Temperance 
Cause  in  America — An  Effectual  Remedy — Pre- 
vention Better  Than  Cure — The  Clergy  Awakened 
— The  Laymen  Awakened — The  Old  Pioneer’s 
Story — Lyman  Beecher’s  Great  Sermon — An  Awak- 
ened Conscience  — God’s  Question — Man’s  Trivial 
Answer,  “Am  I My  Brother’s  Keeper?” — The 
Judgment  is  Coming — Jim  Godsey’s  Fate — His 
Father’s  Example 53 

CHAPTER  V. 

Do-ology. 

Resolutions — Actions — The  Famous  Moody  Institute 
— That  Forty  Days’  Pentecost — Moody  and  Sankey’s 
Services — The  Real  Moody — Lines  on  the  Fly-Leaf 
of  Moody’s  Bible — Doing  the  Theology  Believed — 
Committed  Against  the  Seventh  Plague — One  Hun- 
dred Thousand  Lives  End  Yearly  at  a Drunkard’s 
Grave — They  Never  Do  Anything  but  Talk — Noah 
Saved  by  Practicing  His  Do-ology  - - - 69 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Inactive  Nine-Tenths. 

One-Tenth  of  the  Church  Members  do  Nine-Tenths  of 
the  Work — A Revival  Without  Mixing  Temperance 
with  It — Peter  the  Great — The  Nazarene  Carpen- 
ter— Joan  of  Arc — Services  of  Oliver  Cromwell — 

The  Greatest  Wrong  of  Our  Age — The  Directing 
Hand  Divine — The  Idler’s  Brain,  the  Devil’s  Work- 


CONTENTS 


IX 


shop — The  Old  Black  Traitor — General  Booth — A 
Great  Temperance  Revival — The  Young  People 
Zealous  and  Enthusiastic — All  Denominations 
Waking  Up — Communion  Wine — Courage  Re- 
quired to  Arouse  the  Inactive  — Accidental  Dis- 
charge of  Duty — Living  in  Perilous  Times — Final 
Victory  Only  a Question  of  Time  - - - - 80 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Save  the  Boys. 

At  Whatever  Cost,  Save  the  Boys — Start  Boys  Right  in 
Life  — Bishop  Simpson’s  Passions  in  Youth — Ben- 
jamin West  in  Youth — The  Turning-Point  in  Life 
— Agassiz  in  Boyhood  — Michael  Angelo  when  a 
Boy — Elements  of  Success  in  a Boy — The  States- 
man’s Evening  Hymn — The  Barefoot  Boy  and 
Millionaire — The  Happy  Days  of  Youth — The 
Pint  of  Beer — Two  Pictures — George  — John  — 
Orphan’s  Trials — John  B.  Gough’s  Last  Words  - - 94 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Save  the  Girls. 

Extreme  Notions — Too  Good  or  Too  Bad — Black- 
Hearted  Villains — Love  in  Woman  “ Strong  as 
Death” — Shun  the  Very  Appearance  of  Evil  — 
Struggle  of  Love  and  Hate  — Downfall  of  Parnell 
and  Breckenridge  — Ireland’s  and  America’s  Love 
of  Virtue  — Be  Sure  of  Character — The  New  York 
Christian  Endeavor  Convention  — Darkest  New 
York — The  Salvation  Army  and  Rescue  Work — 
Save  the  Fallen  Sister — Florence  Mission  — A Mid- 
night Experience] — “ Robbers’  Roost” — The  Home 
for  Fallen  Girls — “ I ’m  Too  Old ; I ’m  Lost  ” — The 
Willing  Workers — Growing  Old  in  Sin— Save  the 
Girls 108 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Save  the  Young  Men. 

Daniel  Webster’s  Eloquent  Words — From  Fifteen  to 
Twenty-Five,  the  Happy  Period  in  Life — A Good 
Mother  — The  Old  Sea  Captain’s  Story — Our  Young 
America — The  “Dude” — The  Tobacco  Habit — 


X 


CONTENTS 


First  Night  Away  from  Home  — You  Wish  to  Suc- 
ceed— Do  Not  Sneer  at  Work — The  Charm  of 
Young  Manhood’s  Years — Decision  of  Character — 

The  Man  Who  Guesses — Good  Luck  — “What  Am 
I Fit  For?”  — Every  Man  to  His  Own  Trade — True 
Greatness  — Grant’s  Belief  in  the  Scriptures — True 
Happiness  is  Success 123 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Poisoned  Beverage. 

What  are  You  Drinking?  — Jerry  McAuley’s  Mission — 
Beputable  Citizens  Winking  at  Vice — The  Old,  Old 
Story — A Confession  of  Awful  Crimes — Many  Bar- 
rels of  Poisoned  Whisky — The  Cause  of  Woe  and 
Wretchedness  — Three  Dead  Men  Carried  from  One 
Chicago  Saloon  in  a Month  — White  Blood  Mixed 
with  the  Black  — Poison  Mixed  with  the  Life  Blood 
— Strive  for  Triumphant  Victory  - - - - 142 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Slavery  of  Appetite. 

“ I Can  Drink,  or  I Can  Let  It  Alone  ” — Appetite  Once 
Formed,  Hard  to  Control — To  Rescue  Somebody’s 
Boy — Friend  Mack — His  First  Glass  — Parents 
Heartbroken — “ALittleMan” — A Slave  to  Appetite 
— Sunshine  Mission — The  Prodigal’s  Return  — His 
Struggle  with  Appetite — Life’s  Golden  Years  — 
Seek  Happiness  Outside  of  the  Intoxicating  Cup  — 
Protect  the  Boys  from  the  Temptation  to  Drink  - 153 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Make  Haste  to  the  Rescue. 

Drink  was  His  Ruin — Clarence  — His  First  Wayward 
Steps — His  Father’s  Bad  Advice  — At  Twenty-Five 
a Bloated  Sot — Why  Do  Men  Drink?  — Prevent  — 

One  Hundred  Thousand  Yearly  Filling  Drunkards’ 
Graves — The  Certain  Consequences  of  Drink — A 
Young  Man  Rescued — Beware  — An  Army  from  the 
Ranks  of  the  Youth — Prayer  for  the  Removal  of 


This  Seventh  Plague  — It  Will  Be  Done  - - 163 

ORIGINAL  POEM. 

After  Fifty  Years 173 


INTRODUCTION 


THE  LOST,  AND  HOW  TO  RESCUE  THEM 

There  are  lost  ones  to  be  rescued.  In  every  city,  town, 
and  hamlet  in  our  land  there  are  men  and  women  lost  to 
the  true  end  of  living.  The  average  young  man  is  lost  to 
what  is  highest  and  best  in  character  and  life.  His  tastes 
are  on  the  lower  levels.  He  cares  far  more  for  the  gratifi- 
cation of  his  physical  nature  than  he  does  that  his  immortal 
soul  be  properly  cared  for.  He  spends  his  leisure  loafing 
on  the  street  or  in  the  saloons,  on  the  athletic  field  or  at 
the  theater.  He  does  not  interest  himself  in  anything 
requiring  patient  thought,  profitable  study,  or  other  efforts 
for  personal  improvement.  He  is  really  lost  to  his  own 
highest  good.  He  may  not  yet  have  lost  his  self-respect  or 
the  respect  of  his  friends ; he  may  not  yet  have  fallen  into 
open  and  reckless  vice ; he  may  not  yet  be  afflicted  with  that 
awful  parasite,  habit,  that  is  the  curse  of  so  many  young 
men, — but  he  is  really  lost ; and,  if  he  does  not  face  about 
and  lead  a different  life,  he  will  go  on  in  his  downward 
career  till  rescue  is  no  longer  possible. 

There  are  young  women  who  are  likewise  lost.  If  they 
have  not  departed  from  the  path  of  virtue  and  become  out- 
casts in  society,  as  is  the  case  with  many,  they  are  neverthe- 
less lost  to  the  highest  moral  purposes  and  ambitions.  They 
give  themselves  up  to  the  excesses  of  dress  and  fashion,  to 
the  frivolities  of  a giddy,  thoughtless  life,  and  so  fail  of  life’s 
real  end.  They,  too,  are  in  the  way  that  certainly  leads  to 
irretrievable  loss,  present  and  future. 

Then  there  are  parents  who  are  lost  to  the  holy  offices 
which  belong  to  them,  and  to  the  lofty  possibilities  which 
are  within  their  reach.  For  want  of  proper  guidance  in 
early  life,  and  through  the  influence  of  vicious  associations 


XI 


Xll 


INTRODUCTION 


and  habits,  they  have  grown  reckless  of  duty  and  are  de- 
formed and  ugly  in  character.  The  father  may  be  a drunk- 
ard ; or,  if  not,  spends  his  evenings  in  the  club  house,  doing 
nothing  to  make  a happy  home  for  wife  and  children.  He 
is  not  a true  husband  and  father.  He  is  utterly  lost  to  these 
sacred  relations. 

The  wife,  too,  may  be  lost  to  the  obligations  of  her  queenly 
realm.  She  may  be  faithless,  and  lack  those  habits  of  taste, 
frugality,  and  winsomeness  so  essential  to  congenial  family 
relations  and  to  real  home  comfort  and  affection. 

How  many  there  are  who  are  thus  utter  strangers  to  a 
happy  home  life!  Parents  know  nothing  of  it;  children 
know  nothing  of  it.  In  the  large  cities,  among  the  dwellers 
in  rickety  tenement  houses,  among  other  classes  of  the 
laboring  poor,  among  the  vicious  and  dissipated,  how  marked 
and  shocking  are  the  evidences  of  depravity  and  loss!  The 
poverty,  the  filth,  the  discomfort,  the  crime,  the  woe ! These 
abound.  What  fields  for  rescue  work ! What  opportunities 
for  the  exercise  of  philanthropic  effort,  for  gospel  and 
temperance  work ! These  awful  conditions  of  sin  and 
squalor  are  due  to  the  use  of  strong  drink  more  than  to  all 
other  causes  combined.  These  victims  of  this  awful  curse 
must  be  rescued  from  its  fiendish  grasp  or  they  are  lost 
forever. 

In  the  great  cities  and  in  the  larger  towns  the  vicious 
elements  of  the  world  are  gathering.  The  frontier  settle- 
ments are  no  longer  in  the  great  West,  on  the  prairies  and 
in  the  mountain  valleys,  but  in  the  mighty  centers  of  pop- 
ulation, like  New  York  and  Chicago,  where  great  numbers 
of  foreigners  are  gathered,  who  have  brought  to  this  country 
their  ignorance  and  their  vices.  What  fields  are  here  for 
the  gospel  missionary  and  evangelist ! If  these  classes  are 
to  be  rescued  from  their  lost  estate,  are  to  be  lifted  out  of 
their  filth,  their  ignorance,  and  their  crime  to  cleanliness, 
nobility,  and  salvation  from  their  sins,  Christian  effort  must 
do  it.  Missions  must  be  planted  among  these  people.  Men 
and  women  with  the  Christ  spirit  must  go  among  them,  live 
among  them,  and  by  the  power  of  their  holy  living  and 


INTRODUCTION 


Xlll 


example,  by  their  self-sacrifice  and  devotion,  show  them  the 
true  life  of  the  children  of  God. 

This  city  mission  work,  this  evangelization  of  the  lost 
and  perishing,  will  not  be  thoroughly  done  until  Christian 
people  feel  a deeper  interest  in  the  salvation  of  souls  and  a 
more  intense  longing  for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
upon  the  earth.  A grand  work  is  already  being  done  in 
this  needy  and  inviting  field,  and  yet  “the  harvest  is  great 
and  the  laborers  are  few.” 

How  shall  this  needed  work  of  rescue  be  carried  on? 
With  what  spirit,  with  what  methods,  and  with  what  instru- 
ments ? With  the  gospel  spirit  surely,  and,  first  of  all,  with 
such  methods  as  the  hfoly  Spirit  can  honor  and  bless,  and 
with  such  instruments  as  God-filled  men  and  women,  the 
church,  the  Bible,  and  the  school.  These  agencies  must  be 
primary,  all  others  secondary.  Their  wise  use  will  imply — 

1.  Heroic  earnestness.  Christ  is  our  example  of  this 
kind  of  earnestness.  He  ever  went  about  doing  good. 
Paul  had  an  earnestness  bordering  upon  enthusiasm.  To 
his  work  of  preaching  the  gospel  in  the  great  cities  of  his 
time  he  gave  the  combined  energies  of  his  body,  mind,  and 
heart.  The  secret  of  success  in  winning  souls  is  not  so 
much  the  result  of  gifts  and  attainments  as  it  is  of  earnest- 
ness. If  any  one  is  dead  in  earnest  to  save  souls,  save  them 
from  sin,  intemperance,  and  worldly  folly,  he  will  find  souls 
that  want  to  be  saved,  and  souls  whom  he  can  save  by  God’s 
help.  There  was  once  a village  carpenter  who,  it  is  said, 
did  more  good  in  his  community  than  any  other  person  who 
ever  lived  in  it.  He  could  not  talk  much  in  public,  and  he 
did  not  try ; but  he  was  in  earnest  in  doing  what  he  could. 
He  was  not  worth  much  in  this  world’s  goods,  and  it  was 
very  little  he  could  put  down  on  subscription  papers. 
But  a new  family  never  moved  into  the  village  that  he  did 
not  find  it  out,  and  give  them  a neighborly  welcome,  and 
offer  them  some  service.  He  was  always  on  the  lookout  to 
give  strangers  seats  in  his  pew  at  church.  He  was  always 
ready  to  watch  with  a sick  neighbor,  and  to  look  after  his 
affairs  for  him.  He  and  his  wife  often  sent  little  bouquets 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION 


to  friends  and  invalids  in  the  winter  time.  He  found  time 
for  a pleasant  word  to  every  child  he  met.  He  had  a genius 
for  helping  those  who  needed  help.  And  he  did  help,  and 
chiefly  because  he  was  in  earnest  in  all  he  did.  He  put  his 
heart  into  it. 

2.  Another  element  in  the  Christian  worker  essential  to 
the  rescue  of  the  lost  is  love — love  for  their  souls.  This  is 
more  than  all  learning  or  other  acquirements  and  powers. 
Something  akin  to  that  which  brought  Jesus  Christ  to  this 
world  is  needed  by  those  who  would  go  down  into  the  slums, 
or  into  other  places  where  the  lost  are,  and  win  them  to 
better  living.  It  will  require  love’s  touch  to  arouse  them 
and  inspire  them  to  a better  life. 

It  is  said  that,  during  the  Civil  War  in  our  country,  word 
came  to  a mother  that  her  boy  had  been  wounded  in  battle, 
and  was  in  the  hospital.  She  could  not  rest  till  she  went  to 
see  him.  On  her  arrival,  the  physician  said:  “ Your  boy 

is  fast  asleep.  If  you  go  in  and  wake  him,  the  excitement 
will  kill  him.  By  and  by,  when  he  awakes,  I will  gently 
break  the  news  to  him.”  The  mother,  with  her  loving 
heart  fairly  breaking  to  see  her  boy,  looked  into  the  sur- 
geon’s face  and  said : “ He  may  never  awaken.  If  you  will 

let  me  sit  by  his  side,  I promise  not  to  speak  to  him.”  Con- 
sent was  given,  and  the  mother  drew  quietly  to  the  side  of 
the  cot,  and  looked  into  the  face  of  her  darling  boy.  How 
she  longed  to  embrace  him!  She  could  not  resist  laying 
her  gentle,  loving  hand  on  his  forehead.  The  moment  her 
hand  touched  the  boy’s  brow,  his  lips  moved,  and  he  whis- 
pered, without  opening  his  eyes,  “ Mother,  you  have  come.” 
Even  in  his  sleep  he  knew  the  touch  of  love.  But  that  was 
a mother’s  hand  and  a mother’s  love  which  thrilled  the 
sleeping  soldier  boy. 

There  are  others  who  love  us  intensely,  but  there  is  a 
difference  between  their  touch  and  that  of  mother.  That 
hand  which  rested  on  our  brow  in  time  of  pain  and  trouble 
may  have  long  since  moldered  to  dust.  We  shall  never 
feel  its  like  again.  It  is  also  true  that  the  love  which  can 
lay  a hand  upon  the  heads  and  hearts  of  the  lost,  and 


INTRODUCTION 


XV 


awaken  them  from  the  night  of  death  in  sin,  which  holds 
them  with  such  a strong  embrace,  is  a particular  kind  of 
love— a love  born  in  the  soul  by  the  living,  gracious  touch 
of  Jesus  Christ.  May  every  one  whose  heart  he  has 
touched,  and  who  wishes  to  so  lay  his  hands  on  the  lost  that 
he  may  win  them  to  Christ,  be  ready  to  say  to  every  call 
of  love  and  duty:  ‘‘Lord,  here  am  I;  send  me.  Whither- 
soever thou  leadest,  I will  gladly  go.” 

3.  There  must  also  be  implicit  faith  in  God’s  power  to 
save.  Human  efforts  or  expedients  are  unavailing  in  them- 
selves alone.  “ I have  never  heard,  nor  has  any  one  else, 
of  anything  except  the  gospel  that  proposes  to  regenerate 
the  heart,  and  by  the  influence  of  that  renewed  heart 
rectify  and  purify  the  life.”  We  may  have  wholesome  laws, 
and  execute  them ; we  may  have  wise  systems  of  economic 
salvation,  and  all  kinds  of  devices  for  the  correction  of  bad 
habits  and  vices,  and  well-organized  agencies  of  charity  for 
temporary  need,  but  the  gospel  is  the  only  power  that  can 
save  a soul  and  save  the  world.  All  else,  however  it  may 
bear  upon  this  one  remedy  for  the  sin  and  wretchedness  of 
this  world,  is  but  half-and-half  work,  and  must  come  short 
of  the  desired  end.  God  only  can  save.  He  has  “ so  loved 
the  world,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  per- 
ish, but  have  everlasting  life.”  “Not  by  might,  nor  by 
power,  but  by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.” 

It  is  an  unwavering  faith  in  God  and  the  gospel  of  his 
Son  that  gives  power.  It  is  an  overcoming,  victorious 
faith.  The  worker  thus  equipped  takes  the  gospel  to  the 
lost,  relying  fully  on  its  power  to  save.  His  work  bears 
fruit,  because  it  is  a work  of  faith.  He  is  able  to  return, 
after  the  seed-sowing,  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with 
him.  What  a glorious  service!  The  lost  have  been  res- 
cued ! 

The  author  of  this  volume  keeps  well  in  view  this  end. 
He  deals  with  the  great  principles  which  relate  to  Christian 
duty  and  privilege  in  the  regeneration  of  the  individual  and 
of  society.  His  work,  treating  as  it  does  of  subjects  by  no 
means  new,  is  exceedingly  fresh  and  vigorous  in  thought, 


XY1 


INTRODUCTION 


and  is  singularly  free  from  trite  sayings  and  hackneyed 
phrases. 

With  these  introductory  words  in  harmony  with  its  gen- 
eral spirit  and  purpose,  I heartily  commend  the  book  to  all 
into  whose  hands  it  may  fall.  It  is  full  of  good  things  for 
all  classes,  especially  the  young;  and,  if  read  with  the 
thoughtful  candor  that  characterizes  its  wholesome  teach- 
ings throughout,  it  will  afford  abundant  instruction,  inspira- 
tion, and  profit. 


Dayton,  Ohio. 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  GOLDEN  RULE 

Whatever  else  may  be  said  of  Jesus  and  his 
record  among  men,  it  has  been  conceded  by 
his  most  severe  critics  and  his  bitterest  enemies, 
that  he  was  a very  good  man,  and  that  he  set  a 
very  good  example  for  the  rest  of  mankind  to 
follow.  There  is  something  about  his  life  that 
has  given  an  added  charm  to  all  that  he  has  said. 
There  is  something  about  Jesus  that  where  the 
world  has  once  heard  of  his  words  and  deeds 
it  ever  afterward  wants  to  hear  more.  His  life 
was  love  and  goodness,  and  his  words  are  good 
counsel  and  precious  comfort,  and  are  always 
found  worthy  of  the  high  profession  made  for 
them.  His  heart  of  love  was  so  large  that  in 
his  good  will  for  the  race  he  embraced  all  man- 
kind; and  his  precepts  are  so  true  to  every 

man’s  conviction  op  right 

as  to  commend  them  to  young  and  old  alike. 

Nations  and  individuals  have  found  the  princi- 
2 17 


18 


LOST  AND  KESCUED 


pies  he  taught  a bulwark  of  strength,  and  the 
cross  and  the  crown  are  alike  emblems  of  honor 
to  his  name. 

It  has  been  truly  said  that  “there  is  nothing 
great  in  man  but  mind,”  and  it  is  equally  true 
that  there  is  nothing  truly  great  in  man’s  life  but 
Christlikeness.  The  sculptor,  when  he  endeavors 
to  make  a finished  statue  to  illustrate  goodness  and 
greatness,  selects  that  model  which  most  per- 
fectly represents  these  attributes.  So  with  the 
world  of  mankind:  when  they  try  to  achieve  the 
highest  degree  of  holiness  and  goodness,  they 
choose  for  their  example  the  most  perfect  man; 
and  when  once  they  have  found  their  perfect  ideal, 
him  they  will  adore  and  worship. 

The  sunlight  is  prized  by  us  above  every  other 
light,  because  it  is  our  everyday  light,  and  is  the 
purest  of  all  light,  and  is  furnished  free  to  all 
who  will  use  it.  It  may  cost  us  something  in 
utilizing  it  for  the  different  and  varied  uses  we 
may  make  of  it,  but  we  know  this,  that  it  is  as 
free  as  the  air  to  all  who  will  use  it.  We  love 
the  Christ,  because  his  life  was  spent  among  us 
and  in  all  points  touched  our  life.  He  is  the 
dearer  to  us  because  we  find  a response  in  his  heart 
beat  that  answers  to  our  own,  and  wherever  our 
weary  feet  may  wander  out  over  this  world  we 


THE  GOLDEN  KULE 


ia 


may  feel  that  we  have  the  sympathy  and  love  of 
the  Christ. 

I believe  that 

THIS  GOLDEN  RULE  HAS  A HISTORY. 

I am  sure  that  it  did  not  come  the  first  time  to 
Jesus’  mind  when  he  spoke  it  to  his  disciples 
that  day  from  the  mount.  No;  I believe  that 
from  childhood  it  had  been  woven  into  the 
woof  and  warp  of  his  whole  life.  I believe  that 
his  baby  lips  were  restrained  by  a divine  impulse 
within  from  speaking  the  first  unkind  word;  and, 
likewise,  his  youthful  hand  was  stayed  from  strik- 
ing the  first  blow  to  his  companions  at  play. 
And  I believe  that  the  wise  men  of  Jerusalem 
marveled  more  at  these  superior  attributes  of  his 
character  than  at  the  wise  words  which  he  spoke. 
They  were  able  to  quote  the  Scriptures  them- 
selves; they  were  familiar  with  the  patriarchs 
and  prophets,  but  they  never  saw  such  wisdom 
and  goodness  concentrated  in  humanity  before  as 
to  furnish  a typical  illustration  of  pure  precept 
and  example  personified  such  as  they  beheld  in  the 
Youth  of  twelve  who  stood  before  them.  And 
yet  his  daily  life  was  so  humble  that  he  was 
known  as  “the  carpenter,  the  son  of  Mary”;  and 
in  measuring  his  work  it  was  always  found  to  be 


20 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


twelve  inches  to  the  foot  by  the  rule,  and  when 
he  had  finished  a piece  of  work  for  a neighbor  it 
was  always  true  to  the  Golden  Rule.  “There- 
fore all  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men 
should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them.” 
This  saying  of  Christ’s  rises  high  above  that 
of  any  other  man. 

The  law  of  the  Jews  was,  “Life  shall  go  for 
life,  eye  for  eye,  tooth  for  tooth,  hand  for  hand, 
foot  for  foot”;  so  that 

WHEN  JESUS  CAME, 

and  taught  and  lived  out  before  the  world,  in 
everyday  life,  the  principles  of  the  Golden 
Rule,  it  was  a new  gospel.  It  is  true  that  Con- 
fucius taught  in  negative  terms  the  principles  of 
the  Golden  Rule,  saying,  “What  you  do  not 
like  when  done  to  yourself,  do  not  do  to  others.” 
But  there  is  this  difference  between  Christ’s 
Golden  Rule  and  the  teachings  of  Confucius:  just 
the  difference  there  is  between  a lively  interest  in 
another’s  welfare  and  happiness,  and  total  indiffer- 
ence; just  the  difference  there  is  between  vigor- 
ous, aggressive  progress  and  sluggish  indolence; 
just  the  difference  there  is  between  faith  with  w'orks 
and  faith  without  works;  just  the  difference  there 
is  between  the  awakened  inventive  genius  of 


THE  GOLDEN  RULE 


21 


American  Christian  civilization  and  the  slow, 
plodding  processes  of  Chinese  heathenism.  Christ’s 
Golden  Rule  is,  Christianity  actively  in  earnest, 
doing  something  to  make  the  world  happier  and 
better  every  day,  by  doing  unto  others  as  we 
would  have  them  do  unto  us. 

The  world  had  been  waiting  for  all  the  centu- 
ries for  a man  with  a warm  heart  “going  about 
doing  good,”  and  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  found 

THAT  TYPICAL  MAN. 

And  ever  since  his  time  his  gospel  has  been 
hailed  as  the  “good  news.”  All  truly  great  men 
have  lived  and  worked  with  a definite  object 
in  view ; and,  as  a secret  of  their  success,  some 
great  life  motto  has  been  their  guide.  Jesus 
used  the  Golden  Rule  as  his  great  life  motto,  and 
also  recommended  it  as  a rule  of  life  to  all  man- 
kind. This  rule  of  life,  preached  and  practiced 
by  Jesus,  won  for  him  a place  in  the  hearts  of 
men.  Without  distinction  in  rank  or  station  in 
life,  humanity  thronged  unto  him  for  help  and 
he  received  them  with  loving-kindness.  It  was 
not  beneath  his  dignity  to  preach  a sermon  to  a 
lone  woman  at  the  well ; and  when  two  blind 
beggars  cried  unto  him,  saying,  “Thou  son  of 
David,  have  mercy  on  us,”  he  healed  them;  and 


22 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


when  the  learned  and  wealthy  Nicodemus  ap- 
proached him,  saying,  “Rabbi,  we  know  that 
thou  art  a teacher  come  from  God,”  he  talked 
to  him  about  “the  kingdom  of  God”  with  the 
same  plainness  as  he  would  to  the  most  humble 
servant. 

HAVE  A GREAT  LIFE  MOTTO 

to  guide  you  in  life,  for  it  is  the  true  secret  of 
success.  The  Earl  of  Chesterfield  had  this  for 
his  motto : “ Whatever  is  worth  doing  at  all  is 

worth  doing  well.”  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  when 
asked  how  he  had  achieved  such  success  in  his 
art,  replied,  “ By  observing  one  simple  rule, 
namely,  to  make  each  painting  the  best.”  A 
man  remarked  to  Michael  Angelo  that  in  his 
attention  to  so  many  little  things  he  was  dealing 
with  trifles;  to  which  the  sculptor  replied,  “But 
recollect  that  trifles  make  perfection,  and  perfec- 
tion is  no  trifle.”  Henry  Clay  is  remembered 
most  for  saying,  as  a defeated  candidate,  “ I would 
rather  be  right  than  be  President.”  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  the  Little  Giant  of  Illinois,  when  dying, 
uttered  this  sentiment,  truly  becoming  a great 
statesman:  “Tell  my  boys  to  respect  and  obey 

the  Constitution  and  laws  of  their  country.” 
Abraham  Lincoln  had  for  his  motto,  “With 


THE  GOLDEN  RULE 


23 


malice  towards  none,  with  charity  for  all”;  and 
his  life  was  such  a true  representation  of  his 
motto  that  his  good  and  great  name  will  forever 
be  embalmed  in  the  memory  of  mankind. 

That  day,  as  Jesus  taught  from  the  mount, 
he  saw  in  his  infinite  vision  the  necessities  of 
all  the  ages;  he  saw  that  man  was  given  over  to 
hardness  of  heart;  and  he  saw  the  necessity  of  a 
more 

HUMANE  FEELING  AMONG  HUMANITY. 

So,  out  of  his  own  heart  and  life  he  gave  them 
this  Golden  Rule  as  a life  motto:  “Therefore  all 

things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do 
to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them.”  It  is  not  enough 
that  we  assume  a passive  attitude  toward  others 
and  do  them  no  harm,  but  we  should  do  some 
good,  and  such  good  in  kind  as  we  would  have 
others  do  toward  us.  Said  Chesterfield,  “Men  are 
judged  not  by  their  actions,  but  by  the  result  of 
their  actions.”  So  the  force  of  the  Golden  Rule 
is  to  inspire  us  to  push  out  into  the  world  and  do 
some  good.  We  will  all  have  to  give  an  account 
for  the  proper  use  we  make  of  the  powers  we 
possess.  God  will  hold  us  responsible  for  the 
performance  of  our  duty  and  the  manner  in 
which  we  use  the  golden  opportunities  of  each 


24 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


passing  hour.  Reflecting  upon  this  thought, 
Daniel  Webster  once  said,  “The  most  important 
thought  I ever  had  was  that  of  my  personal 
responsibility  to  God.” 

Where,  then,  can  we  find 

A PRACTICAL  ILLUSTRATION 

of  this  Golden  Rule  ? If  we  observe  atten- 
tively we  may  see  some  example  almost  every 
day.  The  other  day  a little  street  waif  was 
eating  a stale  half  loaf  of  bread  on  a street  cor- 
ner, when  a stray,  half-starved  dog  crouched  near 
by,  looking  wistfully  for  something  to  eat,  when 
the  boy  said: 

“Wot  you  want?  This  aint  no  bone.  Git!” 
The  hungry  dog  moved  off  a little,  and,  again 
crouching,  looked  back  at  the  hungry  boy. 

“Say,  do  you  want  this  wuss  than  I do?”  asked 
the  boy.  “Speak,  can’t  yer?” 

The  dog  gave  a quick  bark,  and,  though  the 
hungry  look  still  remained  in  the  boy’s  eye,  he 
threw  the  dog  the  rest  of  the  loaf. 

“Nuff  said,”  remarked  the  boy,  as  he  watched 
the  hungry  dog  eat;  “I  aint  the  feller  to  see  a 
pard  in  trouble.” 

Homely  as  this  illustration  may  seem,  it  does 
not  take  a philosopher  to  discover  the  principles 


THE  GOLDEN  RULE 


25 


of  the  Golden  Rule  enthroned  in  that  little 
waif’s  heart. 

There  is  a pie  shop  in  London  before  which 

CHARLES  DICKENS  IN  HIS  ROYHOOD 

used  to  stand  and  look  longingly  for  a piece  of 
pie,  which  he  was  unable  to  buy,  for  he  was  poor, 
and  had  to  earn  his  living  by  working  in  a black- 
ing factory.  An  American  who  is  an  admirer 
of  Dickens,  while  traveling  in  England,  hunted 
up  this  same  pie  shop,  which  proved  to  be  only  a 
little  box  of  a place,  a small  room  in  the  poor 
part  of  the  city.  As  he  stood  at  the  door  looking 
in,  and  thinking  of  Dickens,  a little  ragged  boy 
touched  his  elbow  and  asked  in  plaintive  tones, 

“ Please,  sir,  will  you  buy  me  a weal  pie  ? ” 

The  traveler  turned  around  and  looked  at  the 
half-clothed  and  half-starved  boy  and  several  of 
his  companions,  all  of  whom  had  an  expression 
of  hunger  in  their  eyes;  and,  as  he  paused  a 
moment,  he  thought,  “There  may  be  another 
Charles  Dickens  among  these  boys.”  Then  with 
characteristic  promptness  he  replied, 

“How  many  boys  do  you  suppose  that  shop 
will  hold?” 

“I  dunno,”  said  the  boy,  “but  I think  about 
fifteen.” 


26 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


“Well,”  said  the  traveler,  “you  go  out  and  get 
fifteen  boys  and  bring  them  back  here.” 

But  a boy  always  takes  it  for  granted  that  there 
is  “room  for  one  more”;  so  he  went  out  and  came 
back  at  the  head  of  sixteen  boys,  and,  for  once, 
sixteen  little  ragged,  hungry  boys  had  enough 
pie.  In  that  man’s  heart  is  enthroned  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  Golden  Rule. 

At  the  close  of  the  first  bloody  day  of  the  bat- 
tle of  Fredericksburg,  December  13,  1862, 

HUNDREDS  OF  THE  UNION  SOLDIERS, 

wounded  and  dying,  were  left  on  the  field  of 
battle,  from  Skye’s  desperate  charge  on  Kershaw’s 
entrenched  brigade.  All  that  night,  and  most  of 
the  next  day,  the  open  space  was  swept  by  artil- 
lery shot  from  both  of  the  opposing  lines,  and  no 
one  dared  venture  to  relieve  the  sufferers.  All 
that  time  the  agonizing  cry  could  be  heard, 
“Water!  water ! water!”  but  no  one  could 
bring  them  help,  and  the  roar  of  the  cannon 
mocked  their  distress.  At  length,  one  brave  fel- 
low from  the  Southern  forces,  moved  by  irrepres- 
sible compassion  for  the  sufferers,  volunteered  to  go 
to  their  relief.  His  name  was  Richard  Kirkland, 
and  he  belonged  to  a South  Carolina  regiment. 
Appearing  before  General  Kershaw,  he  said, 


THE  GOLDEN  RULE 


27 


“General,  I can’t  stand  this  any  longer.” 

“What’s  the  matter,”  asked  the  General. 

Said  Kirkland:  “Those  poor  souls  out  there 
have  been  praying  and  crying  for  water  all  night, 
and  all  day,  and  it  is  more  than  I can  bear.  I 
ask  your  permission  to  go  out  and  give  them 
water.” 

Said  the  General,  “Do  you  know  that  as  soon 
as  you  show  yourself  to  the  enemy  you  will  be 
shot?” 

“Yes,”  he  answered,  “I  know  it,  but  to  carry  a 
little  comfort  to  those  poor  fellows  dying  I’m  will- 
ing to  run  the  risk.” 

Tendered  by  emotion,  the  General  said:  “Kirk- 
land, it’s  sending  you  to  your  death;  but  I can 
oppose  nothing  to  such  a motive  as  yours.  For 
the  sake  of  it  I hope  God  will  protect  you ; Go.” 

He  had  no  more  than  appeared  in  the  midst 
of  the  suffering  and  dying  than  his  mission  of 
mercy  was  understood  by  both  opposing  armies. 
For  an  hour  and  a half  he  stayed  on  that  field 
of  danger,  giving  a cup  of  cool  water  to  the 
thirsty  sufferers,  pillowing  their  heads  on  their 
knapsacks,  spreading  their  blankets  over  them, 
and  doing  kind  acts  and  speaking  kind  words 
of  sympathy  and  comfort,  in  the  presence  of 
which  the  deadly  mouths  of  the  artillery,  that  had 


28 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


previously  breathed  out  woe  and  death,  were 
hushed.  In  that  man’s  heart  were  enthroned  the 
principles  of  the  Golden  Rule. 

By  emphasizing  everything  that  Jesus  ever  did 
from  the  divine  standpoint,  we  often  overlook 

HIS  GENUINE  SYMPATHY  FOR  HUMANITY. 

Jesus  was  divine,  but  he  was  also  a man,  nobly 
and  truly  a man;  and  being  a man,  in  no  sense 
detracts  from  his  divinity.  By  studying  his  life 
we  learn  that  to  live  close  to  the  heart  of  human- 
ity is  to  live  close  to  the  heart  of  God.  What  we 
commonly  understand  by  the  human  heart,  the 
seat  of  the  affections,  is  more  vividly  expressed  as 
the  divine  principle  in  man.  We  cannot  con- 
vince the  world  that  a heartless  man  is  a godly 
man  or  a Christian.  If  he  has  no  heart,  as  we 
commonly  understand  that  term,  he  lacks  the 
virtue  of  love;  and,  as  God  is  love,  he  necessarily 
lacks  God  and  Godlikeness.  What  makes  the 
Golden  Rule  of  so  great  value  to  the  world  is, 
that  it  is  a Godlike  principle  carried  out  in 
humane  practice.  . 

It  is  said  that  a short  time  before 

Oliver  cromwell’s  mother 
died  she  called  him  to  her  bedside  to  bestow 


THE  GOLDEN  RULE 


29 


upon  him  her  blessing.  He  had  already  become 
the  hero  of  his  time,  the  idol  of  the  English 
people,  but  in  his  mother’s  eyes  he  was  still  her 
boy;  and  with  a mother’s  devotion  again  she 
fondly  caressed  him  and  said:  “May  the  Lord 
cause  his  face  to  shine  upon  thee  and  comfort 
thee,  and  enable  thee  to  do  great  things  for  his 
glory  and  to  be  a relief  unto  his  people.  My 
dear  son,  I leave  my  heart  with  thee.  A good 
night.” 

WHEN  JESUS  WAS  ON  EARTH 

he  acted  and  talked  like  a God  in  both  greatness 
and  goodness;  but  his  heart  of  compassion  always 
beat  in  sympathy  with  humanity.  He  was  God- 
like because  he  was  so  truly  great  in  his  goodness; 
and  he  was  so  in  love  with  humanity  and  the 
souls  of  men  that  when  he  went  back  to  heaven 
he  left  with  humanity  his  heart,  with  a prayer  for 
them  that  they  might  be  saved.  And  to  make 
the  way  of  salvation  plain  Jesus  bequeathed  to 
mankind  the  Golden  Rule  to  be  a rule  for  their 
earthly  life,  so  that  whosoever  will  get  the  Golden 
Rule  into  his  heart  shall  get  into  heaven. 

One  reason  why  we  do  not  give  more  earnest 
heed  to  the  teachings  and  practice  of  the  Golden 
Rule,  is  because  there  is  in  it  so  much  of  every- 


30 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


day  duty  and  commonplace  life.  But  in  that 
very  fact  is  concealed  its  greatest  charm.  If  Jesus 
were  here  on  earth  now  he  would  oppose  the 
evils  of  intemperance  and  the  vending  of  ardent 
spirits  as  a beverage  as  he  did  the  evil  spirits  of 
olden  times.  Christ’s  Golden  Rule  furnishes  the 
best  basis  for  gospel  and  temperance  work; 
therefore,  as  you  endeavor  to  overcome  the  evil 
spirits  and  the  evils  of  ardent  spirits, 

Do  all  you  possibly  can, 

In  all  the  ways  you  can, 

As  long  as  ever  you  can, 

To  rescue  all  the  people  you  can 
From  sin  and  the  evils  of  intemperance. 

This  sentiment  is  worthy  of  being  often  repeated 
and  long  remembered.  Jesus  taught  us  to  do 
all  we  can,  to  save  all  the  people  we  can,  when  he 
taught,  “Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them.”  Following 
his  example,  we  should  be  intensely  interested  to 
save  men.  Though 

HE  WAS  ABOVE  THE  ANGELS 

in  heaven,  yet  he  left  his  throne,  and  in  humility 
he  “was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,”  and 
lived,  and  lived  the  Golden  Rule.  I have  often 
thought  upon  that  first  council  in  heaven,  when 


THE  GOLDEN  RULE 


31 


God  said,  “ Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after 
our  likeness:  and  let  them  have  dominion  over 
the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air, 
and  over  the  cattle,  and  over  all  the  earth,  and 
over  every  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the 
earth.  So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image.” 
But  man,  created  in  the  image  of  God,  fell.  As  a 
fallen  being  he  was  sure  to  retrograde,  and  if  not 
rescued  he  would  have  finally  fallen  to  the 
depths.  Such  is  the  condition  of  the  inebriate 
that  if  not  rescued  soon  he  will  be  lost,  and  we 
that  are  Christ’s  disciples  are  called  to  work  for  his 
rescue. 

I deem  it  reverent  to  assume  that  in  the  course 
of  time  another  council  in  heaven  was  called  in 
the  interest  of  man’s  destiny.  Plan  after  plan, 
through  age  after  age,  had  failed  to  secure  his 
reformation.  God  had  spoken  from  the  smoking 
mountain  amid  peals  of  thunder,  and  angels  had 
appeared  unto  men,  but  still  man  was  heedless. 
Finally,  a call  was  issued  for  volunteers  from 
among  the  “ shining  ones,” — a call  for  some  one 
who  would  volunteer  to  lay  aside  his  heavenly 
robe  and  assume  the  humble  garb  of  humanity, 
and  as  a man  go  to  unfortunate  man’s  rescue. 
When  the  roll  of  heaven  was  called,  not  a “shin- 
ing one”  in  all 


32 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


THAT  CELESTIAL  REALM 

could  be  found  so  humble  as  to  go.  The  sus- 
pense was  as  awful  as  the  task  to  be  assumed. 
The  weary  waiting  of  the  centuries  made  more 
tremendous  that  suspense.  At  last,  all  the 
melody  of  the  universe  burst  forth  into  one 
harmonious  wave  of  music,  and  these  were  the 
words  set  to  that  music:  “On  earth  peace, 

good  will  toward  men.”  Then,  with  bone  of 
our  bone,  and  flesh  of  our  flesh,  and  a heart  with 
humanity,  the  Christ  came  to  earth  and  lived, 
and  lived  the  Golden  Rule.  And  ever  since  then 
the  highest  archangel  has  been  willing  to  be 
the  most  devout  ministering  spirit,  to  emulate  the 
Son  of  God,  that  the  world’s  redemption  might 
be  hastened  through  the  keeping  and  the  living  of 
the  GOLDEN  RULE. 


CHAPTER  II 
A VIVID  VISION  OF  DUTY 

Life  was  a pleasant  dream  through  childhood’s 
precious  years;  home  had  the  charm  of  heaven, 
and  the  atmosphere  of  youth  was  a holy  bene- 
diction. The  earliest  recollections  are  perfumed 
with  memories  of  prayer  at  the  family  altar,  in 
the  morning  and  at  night. 

Precious  in  those  days  were  the  frequent  visits 
of  my  aged  grandfather.  The  light  of  heaven  was 
in  his  face  and  a crown  of  glory  was  upon  his  head 
as  I beheld  him  through  childhood’s  eyes,  and  so 
deeply  graven  upon  my  memory  are  those  early 
impressions  that  a cast  was  given  to  youthful  char- 
acter, abiding  and  lasting.  That  familiar  face,  that 
burning  zeal,  and  that  earnest  soul,  seeking  ever  to 
save  other  souls,  made  his  name  hallowed  wher- 
ever known.  Just  before  he  died  he  prayed  that 
his  mantle  might  fall  upon  some  one  of  his  grand- 
children. The  gentle  voice  of  conscience  caused 
me  to  heed  what  I have  ever  since  believed  to  have 
been 

THE  VOICE  OF  GOD, 

and  I entered  the  ministry.  Since  that  hour, 
3 33 


34 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


one  supreme  duty  has  ever  been  in  mind,  one 
controling  purpose,  one  sublime  inspiration,  and 
that  to  rescue  those  in  danger  of  being  lost. 
Since  then,  a wide  experience  in  large  cities  and 
smaller  towns,  through  a period  of  fifteen  years 
and  more,  have  given  ample  opportunity  to  see 
both  extremes  of  goodness  and  badness,  in  a vast 
variety  of  forms.  I shall,  therefore,  write  from 
personal  experience  many  times,  though  I would 
gladly  suppress  the  personal  element;  for  people 
get  tired  of  platitudes,  and  antiquated  theories, 
and  want  to  hear  of  real  life,  and  facts  which  are 
vitalized  by  life;  hence  I propose  to  write  plainly, 
and  without  reserve,  out  of  the  fullness  of  the 
heart. 

To  my  mind,  this  world  has  always  been  a stu- 
pendous reality;  time  has  always  been  a swiftly 
flowing  stream,  and  the  thought  of  eternity  has 
always  been  an  ever-present  inspiration  to  pre- 
pare here  to  live  forever  hereafter.  Life’s  golden 
opportunities  have  been  jewels  from  heaven,  and 
every  soul  rescued  from  being  lost  has  been  a 
star  saved  from  falling.  The  very  hour  and  mo- 
ment of  my  conversion  are  stamped  upon  memory 
as  deeply  as  was  Paul’s  vision  of  that  light  above 
the  brightness  of  the  sun  which  met  him  on  his 
way  to  Damascus;  and  the  still  small  voice  of 


A VIVID  VISION  OF  DUTY 


35 


God,  calling  me  to  the  ministry,  is  as  real  as  my 
consciousness  of  existence,  and  that  same  voice 
calling  me  to  the 

GOSPEL  TEMPERANCE  WORK 

has  been  equally  as  real.  The  vivid  realities  of 
the  evils  arising  from  intemperance  have,  during 
the  last  ten  years,  aroused  all  the  powers  of  my 
being.  Sometimes,  after  a tremendous  reality 
has  passed  before  my  vision,  I have  started  up  as 
from  a horrid  nightmare,  and  voices  have  sounded 
in  my  ears,  and  deeper  voices  reechoed  in  my 
soul,  and  an  unseen  influence  has  thrust  me  out 
to  duty  as  a soldier  awakened  from  sweet 
dreams  is  pressed  into  battle  at  midnight  to 
defend  his  loved  ones  and  his  home.  It  has  not 
been  of  my  own  choosing,  so  much  as  the  hand 
of  Providence,  that  has  thrust  upon  me  the  task 
of  writing  these  thoughts  which  burn  as  coals  in 
the  soul.  It  is  not  from  books  or  other  men’s 
lips  that  the  inspiration  for  my  work  has  come. 
It  is  not  from  planning  and  studying  out  beautiful 
expressions  and  charming  sentences;  it  is  not 
from  the  outward  world  so  much  as  from  an 
awakened,  conscious  call  to  duty,  that  has  caused 
me  to  view  with  keen  observation  a great  harvest 
and  few  reapers,  a wicked  world  and  a few  right- 


36 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


eous;  and  real  to  my  soul’s  vision  has  been  the 
pleading  Son  of  Man,  with  sweat-drops  of  blood 
falling  from  his  brow,  a heart  breaking  with 
compassion  for  humanity,  and  pleading  for  labor- 
ers in  the  harvest  field  of  the  world.  Do  not 
wonder,  then,  that  I am  in  earnest. 

From  personal  knowledge  of 

DARKEST  CHICAGO  AND  NEW  YORK, 

and  from  seeing  real  life  in  the  slums  of  these 
great  cities,  by  day  and  by  night,  I speak  and 
write.  Having  gone  through  these  scenes  of 
wretched  poverty;  having  seen  the  ghost  of  hun- 
ger and  want,  with  enough  skin  and  flesh  remain- 
ing on  the  living  skeletons  only  to  represent  the 
shadow  of  humanity;  and  having  seen  the  attend- 
ant woes  which  always  are  found  in  company 
with  wretched  hunger  and  want, — having  seen 
these  things  for  myself,  I speak  and  write;  and  it 
has  been  there — always  there — that  the  fumes 
of  intoxicants  do  arise  as  the  vapors  from  the 
mouth  of  hell.  No  tongue  can  tell,  nor  pen 
describe,  the  reality ; no  brain  can  frame  language 
to  express  the  reality;  no  heart  can  truly  sympa- 
thize with  the  other  hearts  that  are  breaking, 
without  a correct  knowledge  and  a vivid  vision 
of  the  reality.  If  you  doubt  the  truth  of  these 


A VIVID  VISION  OF  DUTY 


37 


words,  go  stand  where  I have  stood,  in  the  midst 
of  wretched  woe  and  want;  see  the  prints  of 
death’s  clammy  fingers  upon  the  throats  of  inno- 
cent, pale-faced  children,  starving  and  dying;  see 
father  and  mother  drunk  from  the  last  penny 
spent  for  liquor,  which  should  have  gone  for 
bread;  see  the  manhood  and  womanhood  driven 
out  of  these  temples  of  God  and  the  demon  of 
drink  enthroned, — and  then  render  your  verdict 
as  to  whether  these  words  too  strongly  arraign  the 
liquor  business. 

These  pages  are  not  written  to  make  sadder  the 
unfortunate  and  innocent  who  are  sufferers  from 
this  blighting  curse  of  drink,  but  to  awaken  an 
interest  in  those  who  ought  to,  and  can,  come  to 
their  rescue.  My  hope  is  that  the  dark  side  of 

THIS  VIVID  PICTURE 

may,  peradventure,  stimulate  some  kind  and  ten- 
der heart  to  become  a missionary  among  the 
stricken  ones  who  are  suffering  from  this  plague; 
and  if  some  one  good  and  kind,  out  of  his 
abundance,  will  be  prompted  to  feed  the  hungry 
and  clothe  the  destitute,  these  words  will  not  have 
been  written  in  vain.  Some  one  must  bear  the 
message.  Some  word  must  be  spoken.  Some 
flash-light  of  truth  must  warn  of  danger  and 


38 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


prompt  to  duty.  Therefore  allow  me  to  throw 
out  the  danger  signal,  and  point  to  the  welcome 
light  of  a better  and  brighter  future.  Allow  me 
to  cry  out  the  watchman’s  clarion  tones  of  alarm 
to  the  wide,  wide  world,  where  hearts  that  beat 
true  may  be  moved  to  action.  Allow  me  to  lay 
the  burden  of  a lost  world  upon  the  heart  of  the 
church — the  church  of  God,  which  is  the  mother 
of  all  great  and  lasting  good;  and  in  His  name, 
who  has  taught  us  to  pray,  “ Thy  kingdom  come,” 
let  me  plead  the  power  of  the  gospel  in  this  great 
temperance  reform.  Allow  me  to  rally  the  scat- 
tered and  discouraged  fragments  of  the  Lord’s 
army  and  lead  them  forward  to  renewed  conflict. 
And  will  you  not  join  with  me  in  taking  this 
great  cause  of  common  humanity  to  God  for  his 
help  in  this  time  of  great  need  ? Then,  when  you 
in  your  loneliness,  and  I in  mine,  are  surrounded 
by  walls  of  darkness, — then,  when  we  have  no- 
where else  to  go,  let  us  ask  in  faith,  believing  that 
the  Hand  that  moves  the  world  may  fill  earth  and 
heaven  with  armies  and  chariots  of  God  ready  for 
the  rescue;  then,  when  our  hardened  hearts  are 
waiting  for  the  coming  kingdom,  may  we  be  saved 
from  despair.  Unfortunate  one,  I would  make 
your  cause  my  own;  I would  be  your  friend  and 
comforter;  I would  tell  you  of  the  coming  dawn 


A VIVID  VISION  OF  DUTY 


39 


of  a brighter  day;  I would  bid  you  to  look  up, 
for  God’s  cause  is  marching  on. 

I have  had  a vision — not  a supernatural  vision, 
but 

AN  OPEN  DAY  VISION. 

The  streets  of  a great  city  crowded  with  human 
beings;  men  and  women  rushing  by  in  haste 
to  their  places  of  business;  street-cars  crowded 
with  struggling  masses  of  humanity;  palatial 
homes  and  gardens  of  flowers;  banks  of  great 
wealth,  with  their  vaults  bursting  with  gold;  lofty 
office  buildings,  scraping  the  clouds ; steepled 
churches  of  imposing  grandeur  and  artistic  beauty ; 
steam  and  electric  railroads,  with  palace-cars 
speeding  through  the  land;  electric  lights  in  all 
of  our  great  cities  shining  like  stars  in  their 
brilliancy,  driving  back  the  darkness  of  the  night; 
stacks  of  the  world’s  best  merchandise  displayed 
in  magnificent  storerooms;  cut  and  colored  glass 
decorations  reflecting  the  sunlight  by  day  and 
the  electric  light  by  night — mirrors  of  a thousand 
stars  and  a thousand  rainbows;  luxuries  at  the 
market-place  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe;  an 
enlightened  civilization;  an  age  of  science  and 
invention;  an  era  of  matchless  progress — all  this 
is  enough  to  thrill  the  soul,  to  stimulate  to  high 
and  noble  endeavor,  to  prompt  to  the  highest 


40 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


thoughts  and  emotions  of  happiness, — a tran- 
scendent, heavenly  dream! 

But  all  is  not  told.  In  those  same  cities  are 
byways  to  sin  that  rival  all  that  leads  to  good. 
Sad,  but  true;  too  true.  There  is 

“AN  EVIL  . . . UNDER  THE  SUN  . . . COMMON 
AMONG  MEN.” 

In  that  surging  crowd  are  men,  even  young 
men,  whose  breath  is  tainted  with  odors  from  the 
poisoned  cup.  Underneath  those  sky-scraping 
office  buildings  is  a lava  stream  of  the  beverage 
of  hell.  The  churches  and  the  electric  lights 
cannot  drive  back  the  deeper  moral  darkness  of 
the  saloons.  The  seal-skin  coat  from  the  mag- 
nificent store  window  cannot  keep  off  the  chills 
of  a foreboding  woe.  The  luxuries  from  the  mar- 
ket, spread  upon  the  mahogany  dinner  tables, 
cannot  pacify  the  troubled  soul  that  scents  the 
tainted  breath.  The  flower  gardens  without,  and 
the  luxuries  within,  that  palatial  home  cannot 
drive  away  the  ghost — the  ardent  and  evil  spirits 
that  lurk  in  the  closet,  because  of  the  beverage 
served  from  the  sideboard  of  that  home;  because 
there  are  other  palaces  not  far  away  which  do  not 
have  for  their  aim  the  highest  good  and  the 
holiest  of  joys,  but  the  influence  of  which  is  to 


A VIVID  VISION  OF  DUTY 


41 


damn  human  souls.  On  the  center-tables  of  these 
gilded  palaces  is  not  found  the  Holy  Bible,  God’s 
guide-book  to  heaven,  but  rather  a deck  of  cards, 
the  devil’s  guide-book  to  hell.  From  the  bar  is 
handed  out  to  each  guest  that  enters  a glass  of 
sparkling  liquid  charged  with  poison  from  a 
demon’s  vial  of  woe.  When  the  brain  thus  poi- 
soned is  robbed  of  its  reason,  and  the  nobler  facul- 
ties of  the  soul  are  debased  to  the  level  of  the 
brute,  then  scarlet-robed  figures  glide  before  him, 
to  charm  him  to  their  chambers,  where  are  pitfalls 
to  the  soul.  The  heated  and  poisoned  brain,  once 
cool  and  calm,  becomes  bewitched  by  an  angel  of 
darkness  clothed  in  white,  and  the  head  and 
heart,  once  clear  and  clean,  fall  a victim  to  pas- 
sion. 

To  accomplish  this  ruin  all  the  inventions  of 
science  and  art  are  employed  to  deceive  the 
simple-minded  and  cause  them  to  believe  that 
hell  is  heaven.  To  accomplish  this  ruin  the 
palatial  walls  are  decorated  with  star-set  gems  of 
the  most  dazzling  brilliancy,  reflecting  all  the 
blended  colors  and  hues  of  myriads  of  rainbows; 
skillful  musicians  draw  the  richest  melodies  from 
the  sweetest  toned  instruments;  the  brain,  heated 
hotter  by  added  drinks,  has  lost  all  control  of  the 
delicate  sense  of  manhood;  the  giddy  laugh  of 


42 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


pleasure  rings  through  the  halls,  and,  with  reason 
dethroned  by  the  devil’s  poisoned  beverage,  he 
finds  himself  in  a trance,  dreaming,  dreaming, 
dreaming  that  this  is  pleasure  like  unto  heavenly 
bliss.  He  knows  not  that  his  host  has  only  bid- 
den him  tarry  because  of  his  well-filled  purse;  he 
knows  not  that  the  smiles  to  him  so  pleasing  are 
but  mocking  his  calamity;  he  knows  not  that  as 
soon  as  he  is  fleeced  of  his  money  a trap-door 
beneath  his  feet  will  be  opened,  and  his  slippery 
steps  will  drop  him  into  a hell  of  sorrow  and 
woe. 

Young  man,  your  ruin  is  plotted  in  many  such 
gilded  palaces.  The  first  step  to  ruin  is  taken, 
from  the  first  drink,  downward.  Once  started 
downward,  the  fall  to  hell  is  as  swift  as  light. 
Who  knows,  in  the  hidden  future,  but  that  this 
young  man  may  be  your  boy  or  mine.  This 
tremendous  thought  wakes  me  from  my  dream- 
ing; and  do  you  wonder  that  I am  in  earnest? 
Speak,  0 stones  by  the  wayside,  and  warn  of 
danger!  Whisper,  0 winds  that  fan  the  face 
of  each  passer  by ! Flash  out,  0 sun,  by  day,  and 
moon,  by  night,  and  drive  back  this  deep,  black 
darkness,  that  our  boys  may  be  rescued  from  this 
seventh  plague. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  MODERN  SEVENTH  PLAGUE 

“A  nation  of  happy  homes  is  the  brightest 
dream  of  statesmanship.”  The  Hon.  George  R. 
Wendling,  in  these  words,  has  uttered  a sentiment 
which  will  go  down  through  all  time  as  the  best 
motive  that  a statesman  can  cherish  in  his  heart 
to  commend  him  to  the  confidence  of  the  people, 
whose  interests  he  serves.  “A  nation  of  happy 
homes  ” ! What  a transcendent  dream ! But  how 
much  more  to  us  is  the  realization  of  that  dream ! 
That  thought,  as  does  nothing  else,  fires  the  soul 
and  stimulates  to  high  and  noble  endeavor.  It 
has  wrought  in  the  heart  motives  that  have  made 
our  greatest  heroes,  statesmen,  orators,  and  phi- 
lanthropists; it  has  given  to  the  oppressed  nerve 
and  courage  to  battle  for  liberty  and  freedom, 
and,  where  necessary,  to  shed  the  very  life-blood 
for  our  nation’s  redemption;  and  still  it  so  abides 
in  the  heart  of  the  American  people  as  a motive 
power  to  prompt  them  to  deeds  of  duty  and  dar- 
ing that  it  is  surprisingly  irresistible. 

We  Americans  love  our  homes;  we  work  for 
them,  we  fight  for  them,  and,  if  need  be,  we  will 


44 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


die  for  them.  Anything  that  lays  an  oppressive 
hand  upon  the  American  home  must  go  down. 
Anything,  I repeat,  which  lays  an  oppressive 
hand  upon  the  home  must  go  down.  We  are 
forbearing,  long-suffering,  and  tolerant;  but  for- 
bearance under  tyranny  ceases  to  be  a virtue,  and 
when  the  heated  blood  once  begins  to  boil  in  the 
American’s  heart  with  righteous  indignation,  then 
it  is  that  forbearance  must  cease  and  justice  must 
be  reenthroned.  And  because  the  liquor  traffic 
is  the  enemy  of  the  home,  finally,  finally,  it  must 
go  down  and  then  give  place  to  temperance  and 
righteousness.  But  it  will  not  be  without  a con- 
flict; it  will  not  be  without  heroic  struggles;  it 
will  not  be  without  tests  of  courage  and  man- 
hood; it  will  not  be  without  tears,  and  heartaches, 
and  sacrifice,  and  battle  to  the  finish,  for  the  devil 
is  in  charge  of  the  forces  of  intemperance,  but 
God  is  on  our  side. 

WHAT  IS  THIS  SEVENTH  PLAGUE? 

Allow  me  to  express  the  thoughts  that  have 
fired  my  brain  and  are  now  burning  down  into 
my  inmost  soul.  Perhaps  some  other  mind 
would  classify  differently  the  evils  through  which 
our  nation  has  passed.  Be  that  as  it  may,  only 
give  attention  to  my  message  and  then  draw 


THE  MODERN  SEVENTH  PLAGUE 


45 


your  own  conclusions.  On  the  21st  of  Decem- 
ber, 1620,  sixteen  men,  led  by  Miles  Standish, 
planted  their  feet  on  Plymouth  Rock,  and  there 
the  real  history  of  our  country  began,  and  its 
phenomenal  progress  since  then  is  the  solitary 
wonder  of  the  world.  What  I say  of  Plymouth 
Colony  applies,  in  a general  way,  to  the  other  New 
England  settlements,  and  furnishes  a key  to  our 
subject. 

THE  PLAGUE  OF  DISEASE 

was  the  first  scourge  to  blight  this  new  settle- 
ment. When  the  long  winter  of  1620  had  come 
to  an  end,  fifty-one  of  the  one  hundred  and  two 
pilgrims  had  died.  But  Brewster,  in  the  midst 
of  this  calamity,  said,  “ It  is  not  with  us  as  with 
men  whom  small  things  can  discourage,  or  small 
discontentments  cause  to  wish  themselves  at  home 
again.”  At  one  time  the  living  were  scarcely 
able  to  bury  the  dead.  Only  Brewster,  Standish, 
and  five  other  hardy  ones  were  well  enough  to 
get  about.  But  “they  repined  not  in  all  their 
sufferings,  and  their  cheerful  confidence  in  the 
mercies  of  Providence,”  says  Wilson,  “remained 
unshaken.”  And  speaking  of  the  colony  where 
Boston  is  now  located,  and  where  two  hundred 
had  died  in  a year,  history  tells  us  that  those 
remaining  “were  sustained  in  their  affliction  by 


46 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


religious  faith  and  Christian  fortitude.  Not  a 
trace  of  repining  appears  in  their  records,  and 
sickness  never  prevented  their  assembling  at 
stated  times  for  religious  worship.”  Out  of  the 
one  hundred  and  two  of  the  original  Plymouth 
Colony,  history  records  that  at  the  end  of  the  first 
year  “ five  husbands  had  been  left  widowers  and 
one  wife  a widow;  nine  husbands  had  been 
buried  with  their  wives;  only  three  couples  re- 
mained unbroken,  and  there  were  but  two  couples 
who  had  not  lost  some  member  of  their  family; 
five  children  lost  both  parents,  three  others  had 
been  made  fatherless,  and  three  motherless.” 
Such  was  the  ravage  of  the  plague  of  disease. 
But  did  they  give  up  in  despair?  No ! no ! Those 
brave  souls  remaining  lived  on  and  worked  on 
with  a faith  irresistible  and  hope  unfaltering, 
having  this  for  their  motto:  “In  God  We  Trust” 
Added,  to  the  plague  of  disease,  those  early  set- 
tlers were  hunted  down,  waylaid,  and  massacred 
by  the  brutal  savages.  They  knew  not  at  what 
moment 

THE  TREACHEROUS,  DECEITFUL  SAVAGES 

would  pounce  upon  them  like  a hawk  upon  its 
prey.  Every  rustling  leaf  caused  fears  and  fore- 
bodings of  danger.  Their  waking  hours  by  day 


THE  MODERN  SEVENTH  PLAGUE 


47 


were  haunted  by  the  dread  of  attack  from  a mur- 
derous foe,  while  their  slumbers  by  night  were 
disturbed  by  dreams  of  savages  who  thirsted  for 
their  blood.  But  did  they  give  up  in  despair? 
No!  no!  They  worked  on  and  fought  on,  with 
their  motto  the  same — “ In  God  We  Trust.” 
Quietly  as  comes  the  morning  dawn,  a sin  crept 
stealthily  into  the  young  nation’s  heart.  It  was 

THE  PLAGUE  OF  SLAVERY, 

because  it  was  easier  to  have  slaves  to  do  their 
work  for  them  than  to  do  it  themselves.  The 
slave  trade  became  an  infatuation.  The  magni- 
tude of  human  slavery  was  not  comprehended  at 
the  time.  But  it  was  a sin  against  humanity 
which  God  could  not  bear  to  look  upon;  so,  finally, 
it  had  to  be  washed  away  with  the  blood  of  the 
nation’s  bravest  and  noblest  sons.  But  did  the 
faithful  few  who  pleaded  for  the  principles  of 
liberty  and  righteousness  give  up  in  despair? 
No!  no!  They  worked  on  and  fought  on,  with 
their  motto  the  same — “In  God  We  Trust.” 

The  plague  of  slavery  was  the  cause  of 

THE  PLAGUE  OF  WAR. 

The  war  of  the  Revolution,  with  its  heroes  and 
its  victories,  is  a matter  of  pride  to  Americans, 


48 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


and  we  still  speak  of  those  heroes  and  victories 
with  pride.  And  though  there  were  heroes  as 
brave  and  victories  as  great  in  the  late  Civil  War, 
yet,  when  we  now  think  of  it,  in  our  more  sober 
thoughts,  how  that  war  was  a great  family  quar- 
rel, we  feel  the  crimson  blush  of  shame.  On 
those  battle-fields  the  son  was  sometimes  arrayed 
against  the  father,  and  brothers  spilt  their  broth- 
er’s blood.  Oh,  the  depths  of  woe  that  civil  war 
caused!  Oh,  the  struggle  we  have  gone  through 
for  a third  of  a century  to  heal  the  awful  wounds 
that  cruel  war  made!  Oh,  the  sufferings  of  the 
widows  and  orphans  who  were  left  to  the  cruel 
mercies  of  fate.  But  when  the  battle  was  the 
fiercest,  did  our  brave  boys  in  blue  give  up  in 
despair?  No!  no!  they  worked  on  and  fought 
on,  with  their  motto  the  same — “In  God  We  Trust.1’ 
Since  the  Civil  War,  another  plague,  in 

THE  RISE  AND  GROWTH  OF  MORMONISM, 

threatened  to  strike  a fatal  blow  to  the  sacred  re- 
lations of  home.  It  became  a festering  sore  on 
the  body  politic,  and  from  Salt  Lake  City  it  spread 
with  its  thousand  rootlets,  like  a huge  cancer,  to 
eat  away  the  virtue  of  the  nation.  There  was  no 
other  remedy  but  radical  national  legislation,  and 
the  decisive  effect  of  that  legislation  is  well  known 


THE  MODERN  SEVENTH  PLAGUE 


49 


to  you  all.  But  when  the  evil  of  polygamy  was 
the  boldest,  did  we  give  up  in  despair  ? No ! no ! 
We  worked  on  and  fought  on,  with  our  motto  the 
same — “In  God  We  Trust.” 

The  twin  plague  of  Mormonism  was 

THE  LOUISIANA  STATE  LOTTERY. 

The  postal  system  of  the  United  States  was  its 
stronghold,  and  likewise  radical  national  legisla- 
tion was  the  only  remedy;  and  the  decisive  effect 
of  that  legislation  is  also  well  known  to  you  all. 
This  evil  grew  to  be  such  a monster  that  it  not 
only  held  the  State  of  Louisiana  within  its  iron 
grasp,  but  stealthily  crept  into  the  national  Capi- 
tol at  Washington,  and,  panther-like,  it  sought  to 
seize  the  nation  by  the  throat.  And  because  this 
vicious  monster,  with  glaring  eyes  and  heated 
breath,  crouched  in  our  way,  did  we  give  up  in 
despair?  No!  no!  We  worked  on  and  fought 
on,  with  our  motto  the  same — “In  God  We  Trust.” 

THE  SEVENTH  PLAGUE  OF  OUR  LAND 

is  the  evil  of  intemperance,  and  of  all  the  plagues 
with  which  this  nation  has  been  visited  this  sev- 
enth plague  threatens  the  greatest  harm.  This 
seventh  plague  haunts  us  daily,  haunts  us  as  the 
serpent  haunted  Adam  in  Eden,  haunts  us  as  that 

4 


50 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


other  seventh  plague  haunted  the  families  of 
ancient  Egypt.  This  seventh  plague  of  our  land 
is  fattening  on  the  blood  of  the  nation’s  noblest 
sons  and  daughters,  and  helpless  wives  and  chil- 
dren are  its  prey.  It  is  almost  omnipresent  and 
well-nigh  omnipotent.  It  is  the  personification  of 
Satan  himself,  and  is  as  “cruel  and  remorseless 
as  hell.”  So  great  are  the  ravages  of  this  seventh 
plague  that  if  it  were  not  for  the  assurance  that 
God  in  heaven  is  in  this  battle  to  champion  the 
right  against  the  wrong  our  hearts  would  faint 
within  us.  But  we  believe  in  God  and  destiny; 
and  though  we  be  confronted  with  ten  thousand 
demons  and  legions  of  fallen  men  and  angels  we 
will  not  despair;  we  will  work  on  and,  if  need 
be,  fight  on,  with  our  motto  the  same — “In  God 
We  Trust.” 

I believe  that  there  is  a providence  in  placing 
over  the  American  eagle  on  our  silver  dollar  this 
motto: 

“in  god  we  trust,” 

so  that  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  our  land 
who  earns  a silver  dollar  may  see  this  motto  often 
enough  to  treasure  it  in  the  heart  as  an  anchor 
to  the  soul  in  the  hour  of  peril.  This  is  “God’s 
country.”  Satan  is  striving  to  possess  it,  but  he 
never  will.  We  get  tremendously  scared  once  in 


THE  MODERN  SEVENTH  PLAGUE 


51 


a while,  but  it  only  drives  us  closer  to  the  side  of 
the  God  we  trust.  I am  certain  that  the  God  of 
destiny  is  with  us  in  this  conflict  of  the  right 
against  the  wrong,  and  I am  equally  certain  that 
those  who  work  and  fight  for  God  and  right  shall 
win  stars  in  their  crowns.  I believe  that  this 
monster  evil,  intemperance,  fittingly  represents  the 
great  dragon,  “that  old  serpent  called  the  Devil, 
and  Satan,  which  deceiveth  the  whole  world.”  But, 
like  John,  in  Revelation,  we  hear  “a  loud  voice 
saying  in  heaven,  Now  is  come  salvation,  and 
strength,  and  the  kingdom  of  our  God,  and  the 
power  of  his  Christ;  for  the  accuser  of  our  brethren 
is  cast  down,  which  accused  them  before  our  God 
day  and  night.”  And  of  every  one  who  is  faith- 
ful unto  the  end  it  shall  be  said,  “And  they 
overcame  him  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and 
by  the  word  of  their  testimony;  and  they  loved 
not  their  lives  unto  the  death.”  We  who  are  in 
the  heat  of  battle  with  the  tremendous  evils  of 
intemperance  now  see  this  Scripture  passage  to  be 
a vivid  description  of  our  time:  “Woe  to  the 
inhabiters  of  the  earth  and  of  the  sea!  for  the 
devil  is  come  down  unto  you,  having  great 
wrath,  because  he  knoweth  that  he  hath  but  a 
short  time.”  But  the  time  will  come  when  God’s 
mighty  angel,  who  is  fighting  with  us  in  this 


52 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


conflict,  shall  “ come  down  from  heaven,”  and  he 
shall  “ lay  hold  on  the  dragon,  that  old  serpent, 
which  is  the  Devil,  and  Satan,”  and  he  shall 
“bind  him  a thousand  years.”  Then  unto  the 
end  be  hopeful  and  faithful  all,  for  in  that  day  of 
triumph  “ he  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all 
things,”  saith  the  promise;  “and  I will  be  his  God, 
and  he  shall  be  my  son.” 


CHAPTER  IV 
AN  AWAKENED  CHURCH 

An  awakened  church  and  a converted  world  are 
the  crosscut  to  the  millennium.  An  awakened 
church  committed  to  work  is  the  only  agency 
that  can  overcome  the  powers  of  darkness.  An 
awakened  church  is  the  one  hope  of  the  establish- 
ment of  God’s  kingdom  upon  earth.  Accordingly, 
I come  to  bring  a message  to  the  church,  a mes- 
sage to  arouse  to  duty  and  to  work,  a message  to 
inspire  hope  and  renew  courage,  a message  to 
summon  every  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ  to  battle 
against  the  greatest  foe  of  mankind.  What  are 
you  going  to  do  about  this  seventh  plague?  I 
see  you  start  up  with  feelings  of  mingled  fear  and 
surprise. 

“What!”  you  ask,  “is  there  a plague  in  our 
midst  ? ” 

“Yes,”  I answer. 

“What  is  it,  and  where  is  it?” 

With  breathless  anxiety  you  wait  for  the  further 
explanation.  The  only  reason  why  the  churches 
and  mankind  generally  do  not  manifest  a like 
intense  interest  concerning  the  evils  of  intemper - 

53 


54 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


ance  is  because  they  are  asleep.  They  are  sleep- 
ing while  the  flood-gates  of  ruin  are  bending  low 
with  the  resistless  tide  of  woe ! They  are  sleeping 
while  their  own  brothers  who  were  weaker  than 
themselves  are  falling  into  the  depths,  the  depths 
of  endless  ruin!  They  are  sleeping  while  the 
flames  of  hell  are  creeping  to  their  very  feet!  It 
is  because  they  are  asleep  that  they  do  not  meet 
this  foe  of  mankind.  To  arouse  an  awakened 
interest 

SOMETHING  MUST  BE  DONE. 

Who  will  sound  the  alarm  ? Who  will  go  to  the 
forefront  of  battle  and  lead  the  way  ? Who  will 
sacrifice,  and  bear  the  sneers  and  reproach  of  the 
world,  to  bear  the  banner  of  temperance  side  by 
side  with  the  banner  of  the  gospel ? This  thought 
has  come  to  me  by  day  and  by  night.  I have 
felt  moved  by  a power  irresistible.  I have  looked 
through  the  gloom  of  disappointment  to  behold 
the  armies  of  God,  “the  chariots  and  horsemen 
thereof,”  and  all  the  hosts  of  heaven  marshaled 
on  our  side  to  insure  certain  and  final  victory; 
I have  had  faith  that  in  the  name  and  through 
the  power  of  God  we  shall  finally  triumph.  Who 
will  be  on  the  Lord’s  side  ? Who  will  come  to 
the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty?  “Who 


AN  AWAKENED  CHURCH 


55 


then  is  willing  to  consecrate  his  service  this  day 
unto  the  Lord?” 

Personally,  I have  resolved  never  myself  to 
touch,  taste,  nor  handle  this  beverage  of  hell; 
and  I have  resolved  to  do  “ all  I can,  in  all  the 
ways  I can,  and  as  long  as  ever  I can,”  to  fire  the 
souls  of  others  with  enthusiasm,  to  arouse  to 
action,  and  to  stimulate  to  earnest  endeavor.  The 
awful  ravages  of  this  seventh  plague  are  upon  us 
and  give  just  cause  for  alarm.  There  is  danger 
ahead;  there  is  sorrow,  and  woe,  and  death  to 
fear  if  we  do  not  stay  this  tide  of  evil  flowing 
from  the  deadly  cup.  I would  not  speak  such 
startling  warnings  but  for  the  conviction  that  the 
hand  of  God  would  rest  hard  upon  me  if  I held 
my  peace.  If  ever  the  stones  should  cry  out  to 
break  the  silence,  it  is  in  the  face  of  this  evil, 
which  the  great  Gladstone  said  has  produced 
more  woe  to  humanity  than  war,  pestilence,  and 
famine  combined.  I believe  that  the  plague  of 
evils  following  the  use  of  intoxicating  beverages 
is  the  greatest  curse  of  our  land,  the  greatest 
curse  of  the  age,  and  that  to  intemperance, 
the  use  of  intoxicating  beverages,  can  be  traced 
the  vast  majority  of  the  evils  of  intemperance  in 
other  things.  Therefore,  I ask  you  to  bear  with 
me  patiently  while  I give  you  a few  facts  in 


56 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


history — not  dry  facts,  but  if  they  ever  were 
dry  they  have  caught  fire;  and  I sincerely 
hope  that  the  fire  may  spread  until  it  reaches 
every  distillery,  and  brewery,  and  government 
storehouse,  and  saloon  in  the  land,  and  ignites 
the  alcoholic  fumes  arising  from  those  spirits 
(evil  spirits),  and  explodes  every  whisky  barrel, 
beer  keg,  and  wine  bottle  in  the  land. 

Says  Dr.  Lees : 

. “ TEETOTALISM 

everywhere  pervaded  the  primeval  empires  of 
the  world.  It  was  preached  and  practiced  by  the 
greatest  moral  reformers  and  spiritual  teachers  of 
antiquity,  and  was  a part,  indeed,  of  the  religious 
culture  of  the  Egyptians  centuries  before  the 
Jewish  nation  existed.”  That  is  ancient  history; 
but  I must  confine  myself  to  the  temperance  reform 
in  America.  The  first  temperance  society  in 
America  of  which  we  have  record  was  composed 
of  farmers.  The  Federal  Herald  of  July  13, 
1789,  of  Lansingburg,  New  York,  contained  this 
item:  “Upward  of  two  hundred  of  the  most 

respectable  farmers  of  the  county  of  Litchfield, 
Connecticut,  have  formed  an  association  to  dis- 
courage the  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  and  have 
determined  not  to  use  any  kind  of  distilled  liquors 


AN  AWAKENED  CHURCH 


57 


in  doing  their  farming  work  the  ensuing  sea- 
son.” 

A year  later  this  sentiment  took  definite  form 
in  the  first  memorial  to  Congress,  which  was  sent 
by  the  College  of  Physicians  of  Philadelphia, 
December  29,  1790,  and  similar  petitions  have 
been  presented  many  times  since.  Among  other 
things,  this  petition  said:  “Your  memorialists 

have  no  doubt  that  the  rumor  of  a plague,  or 
any  other  pestilential  disaster,  which  might  sweep 
away  thousands  of  their  fellow-citizens,  would 
produce  the  most  vigorous  and  effective  meas- 
ures in  our  government  to  prevent  or  subdue  it. 
Your  memorialists  can  see  no  just  cause  why  the 
more  certain  and  extensive  ravages  of  distilled 
spirits  upon  life  should  not  be  guarded  against 
with  corresponding  vigilance  and  exertion  by  the 
present  ruler  of  the  United  States.  Your  memo- 
rialists beg  leave  to  add  further,  that  the  habitual 
use  of  distilled  liquors  in  every  case  whatever  is 
wholly  unnecessary.  They  center  their  hopes, 
therefore,  of 

AN  EFFECTUAL  REMEDY 

in  the  wisdom  and  power  of  the  Legislature  of 
the  United  States.”  These  physicians  were  not 
asleep,  but  wide-awake,  and  they  most  thoroughly 


58 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


believed  ia  the  old  adage  that  “ it  is  better  to  pre- 
vent than  to  cure." 

The  first  vigorous  protest  on  record  against 
legalizing  this  seventh  plague  was  in  the  form 
of  an  address  issued  in  1819,  and  presented  before 
the  New  York  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  In- 
ternal Improvements,  from  which  we  quote  this 
stirring  passage:  “Can  any  one  believe  a tax 

imposed  on  a house  of  lewdness  would  operate 
to  discourage  them  and  lessen  their  number? 
The  language  of  such  a measure  would  be  this: 
‘The  evil  is  admitted  to  exist,  but  the  tax  (or 
license)  is  the  price  of  forgiveness  and  absolution. 
The  influence  they  gain  by  becoming  useful  in 
point  of  pecuniary  profit  to  the  authority  by 
which  they  are  created,  serves  to  increase  their 
number.  The  introduction  of  intoxicating  liquors 
into  our  country,  so  far  from  being  deemed  a 
misfortune,  has  been  exultingly  quoted  as  evi- 
dence of  the  great  commercial  prosperity  of  the 
nation.  So  inconsistent  are  men  otherwise  dis- 
tinguished for  their  wisdom,  that  as  philanthro- 
pists they  will  deplore  the  increase  of  drinking 
as  a public  calamity,  and  in  the  next  breath 
rejoice  as  patriots  at  the  increase  of  the  means 
of  intemperance  as  an  evidence  of  increasing  na- 
tional felicity ! While  the  cause  exists,  and 


AN  AWAKENED  CHURCH 


59 


grogshops  continue  to  be  licensed,  the  futility 
of  the  hope  to  regulate  them  is  proved  by  the 
failure  of  every  attempt  heretofore  made.”  These 
noble  men  were  not  asleep,  but  wide-awake,  and 
they  also  believed  in  the  old  adage  that  “ it  is 
better  to  prevent  than  to  cure.” 

THE  FIRST  AWAKENED  INTEREST 

of  the  Protestant  clergy  concerning  the  ravages 
of  this  plague  (and,  thank  God,  the  Catholic 
clergy  are  now  also  waking  up)  dates  back  to 
1811,  when  Dr.  Rush  appeared  before  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  ear- 
nestly pointed  out  the  dangers  threatened  by  the 
evils  of  intemperance.  That  assembly  took  action, 
urging  all  the  ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  United  States  “to  deliver  public  addresses 
on  the  sin  and  mischief  of  intemperate  drinking.” 
The  same  year  the  General  Association  of  Con- 
necticut appointed  a committee,  which,  the  follow- 
ing year,  reported  that  “they  had  taken  the  subject 
of  intemperance  into  consideration ; that  they  had 
ascertained  the  evil  was  tremendous  and  steadily 
increasing,  but  they  could  not  see  that  anything 
could  be  done.”  That  is  just  the  way  many  are 
talking  to-day,  many  who  are  sleepy,  lazy,  and 
indifferent.  But  there  was  present  one  man — a 


60 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


man  cast  in  a heroic  mold,  who  was  not  asleep; 
that  man  was  Lyman  Beecher.  Instantly  he 
arose  and  moved  that  this  committee  be  dis- 
charged and  a new  committee  appointed.  Of  the 
new  committee  Lyman  Beecher  was  appointed 
chairman.  This  new  committee  immediately  re- 
ported, and  recommended  “entire  abstinence  on 
the  part  of  individuals  and  families  from  all 
spirituous  liquors.” 

Many  at  that  time  considered  this  idea  imprac- 
ticable and  even  ludicrous;  others  considered 
it  the  door  of  hope;  finally  this  hope  ripened 
into  action,  and  led  to  the  organization  in  the 
year  1813  of  the  Massachusetts  Society  for  the 
Suppression  of  Intemperance.  In  1823,  or  ten 
years  later,  this  society  issued  a public  appeal. 
It  was  written  by  Henry  Ware,  of  Boston,  and 
contained  this  impassioned  passage:  “The  moral 
pestilence  which  scatters  suffering  worse  than 
death  spreads  itself  everywhere  around  us;  but 
we  are  unaffected  by  its  terrific  magnitude  and 
fearful  devastation.  It  would  be  comparatively 
a little  thing  if  the  plague  should  sweep  these 
thousands  from  our  cities;  it  would  be  a com- 
fort that  they  perished  by  the  hand  of  God. 
But  this  sadder  infatuation  of  the  multitude  at 
home 


AN  AWAKENED  CHURCH 


61 


WHO  ARE  SACRIFICING  THEMSELVES 

beneath  the  operation  of  a slow  and  brutal  poison 
hardly  moves  us  to  a momentary  consideration. 
We  might  succeed  in  preaching  up  a crusade  to 
India,  while  we  can  hardly  gain  a hearing  for 
those  who  are  perishing  by  our  side.  ...  It 
seems  that  there  is  no  man,  nor  body  of  men, 
who  can  strike  at  the  root  of  the  evil  but  the 
legislature  of  the  nation.  Exhortation,  tracts, 
preaching,  and  personal  influence  will  effect  but 
a partial  and  imperceptible  remedy.” 

THESE  LAYMEN  WERE  NOT  ASLEEP. 

They  were  awake  to  their  responsibility  to  duty 
as  much  as  the  clergy,  and  they,  likewise,  believed 
in  the  old  adage  that  “it  is  better  to  prevent  than 
to  cure.”  Now  this  time-honored  adage  or  maxim, 
in  logical  parlance,  is  as  plain  as  any  other  “self- 
evident  truth.”  But  there  are  some  people  who 
are  so  blind  to  the  logic  of  facts  that  they  will 
stick  to  it  that  it  is  better  to  cure  than  to  prevent. 

Some  years  ago  I made  a trip  into  Kansas,  and 
there  learned  several  things  both  old  and  new.  A 
certain  old  pioneer  settler  one  day  chanced  to 
meet  a young  student  who  had  just  returned 
from  college.  The  student  at  his  first  opportu- 
nity took  occasion  to  tell  some  very  large  stories 


62 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


of  petrified  remains  of  animals  he  had  seen  in 
the  college  museum.  The  old  pioneer  listened 
very  attentively;  but  being  unacquainted  with 
the  facts  concerning  such  strange  freaks  of  nature 
he  supposed  that  the  college  student  was  simply 
playing  on  his  credulity,  and  he  concluded  he 
would  tell  a story  of  a petrified  animal,  too.  So 
he  thus  began: 

“One  day  I saw  a petrified  buffalo,  and  he 
looked  just  as  natural  as  life,  and  he  was  petrified 
on  the  run,  too,  and  he  kicked  sod  in  the  air, 
and  the  sod  was  petrified,  too.” 

At  this  the  student  interrupted  the  old  pioneer, 
saying,  “Why,  that  can’t  be;  for  the  sod  would 
fall  to  the  ground  by  the  force  of  gravity.” 

But  to  get  even  with  the  college  student  the  old 
pioneer  deliberately  said:  “Well — I’ll — be — 

hanged — if — the — gravity — wasn’t — petrified — 
too.” 

Now  concerning  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors, 
there  are  some  people  who  will  stick  to  it  that  it 
is  better  to  “cure”  than  to  “prevent.” 

IF  LYMAN  BEECHER, 

the  John  the  Baptist  of  the  temperance  cause  in 
America,  could  speak  from  the  border  of  eternity, 
he  would  repeat  the  same  sermons  which  he 


AN  AWAKENED  CHURCH 


63 


preached  so  earnestly  while  on  the  shores  of  time, 
and  which  Dr.  Dunn  has  called  “the  most 
wonderful  condensation  of  burning  truths  that 
human  lips  have  uttered.”  Let  him  now  speak; 
and  let  us  now  listen  to  his  words,  which  express 
the  immortal  thoughts  that  once  so  fired  his  soul: 
“Can  we  lawfully  amass  property  by  a course 
of  trade  which  fills  the  land  with  beggars,  and 
widows,  and  orphans,  and  crimes;  which  peoples 
the  graveyard  with  premature  mortality,  and  the 
world  of  woe  with  the  victims  of  despair?  Could 
all  the  forms  of  evil  produced  in  the  land  by  in- 
temperance come  upon  us  in  one  horrid  array,  it 
would  appall  the  nation,  and  put  an  end  to  the 
traffic  in  ardent  spirits.  If,  in  every  dwelling 
built,  the  cries  which  the  bloody  traffic  extorts, 
from  the  beam  out  of  the  timber,  should  be  echoed 
back,  who  would  build  such  a house?  What  if 
in  every  part  of  the  dwelling,  from  the  cellar  up- 
ward, through  all  the  halls  and  chambers,  bab- 
blings, and  contentions,  and  voices,  and  groans, 
and  shrieks,  and  wailings  were  heard  day  and 
night?  What  if  the  cold  blood  oozed  out  and 
stood  in  drops  upon  the  walls,  and,  by  preter- 
natural art,  all  the  ghastly  skulls  and  bones  of 
the  victims  destroyed  by  intemperance  were  dimly 
seen,  haunting  the  distilleries  and  stores  where 


64 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


they  received  their  bane,  following  the  track  of 
the  ship  engaged  in  commerce,  walking  the  waves, 
flitting  athwart  the  deck,  sitting  upon  the  rigging, 
and  sending  up  from  the  hold  within,  and  from 
the  waves  without,  groans,  and  loud  laments,  and 
wailings ! Who  would  attend  such  stores?  Who 
would  labor  in  such  distilleries?  Who  would 
navigate  such  ships?  Oh,  were  the  sky  over  our 
heads  one  great  whispering  gallery,  bringing  down 
about  us  all  the  lamentations  and  woe  which  in- 
temperance created,  and  the  firm  earth  one  sono- 
rous medium  of  sound,  bringing  up  around  us 
from  beneath  the  wailings  of  the  damned,  whom 
the  commerce  in  ardent  spirits  had  sent  thither, 
these  tremendous  realities  assailing  our  sense 
would  invigorate  our  conscience  and  give  decision 
to  our  purpose  of  reformation.” 

These  are  the  burning  words  of  a wide-awake 
messenger  of  God,  who  possessed 

AN  AWAKENED  CONSCIENCE, 

and  who  spoke  like  a prophet  in  the  presence 
of  his  God;  and  many  indifferent  ones,  who 
before  were  sleeping  and  dreaming,  have  been 
aroused  from  their  lethargy  and  stimulated  to 
active  and  aggressive  effort.  Now,  if  these  were 
my  words  you  would  call  me  a modern  fanatic. 


AN  AWAKENED  CHURCH 


65 


But  I have  quoted  here  the  utterances  of  men 
who  lived  and  spoke  and  wrote  from  seventy-five 
to  one  hundred  years  ago;  and,  in  fact,  the  most 
convincing  arguments  and  the  most  effectual 
truths  we  use  to-day  are  borrowed  from  our  fore- 
fathers, and  we  march  to  the  music  and  watch- 
words they  have  given  us,  with  our  motto  the 
same — 

“in  god  we  trust.” 

Oh,  for  one  more  such  a bugle-blast  as  was 
uttered  by  the  prophets  of  olden  time ! Oh,  for 
the  voice  of  another  modem  John  the  Baptist,  who 
shall  go  forth  and  cry  aloud  in  the  wilderness  of 
woe  now  about  us,  because  of  the  ravages  of  this 
seventh  plague!  Oh,  for  the  voice  of  God,  to 
awaken  the  sleeping  church  and  the  slumbering 
world  to  duty  in  this  hour  of  threatening  danger! 
But  if  not  in  the  earthquake,  or  in  the  storm,  O 
Lord,  come  now  in  the  still  small  voice;  come 
quickly  and  awaken  the  sleeper,  lest  we  suddenly 
perish. 

God’s  question  to  Cain,  “Where  is  thy  brother  ?” 
cannot  be  turned  aside  with  a trivial  answer.  We 
cannot  shift  the  responsibility  from  our  own  con- 
sciences to  others  by  saying,  “Am  I my  brother’s 
keeper?”  The  responsibility  of  duty  in  life  is  a 


5 


66 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


very  serious  thing.  It  is  a very  serious  matter  to 
live  in  this  present  age,  so  fraught  with  opportu- 
nities for  doing  good;  it  is  a very  serious  matter 
to  have  an  influence  for  good  and  not  use  it  to  do 
good;  it  is  a very  serious  matter  to  neglect  our 
plain  duty.  Our  lives  are  linked  with  the  des- 
tiny of  the  other  lives  around  us.  0 dwellers  at 
ease  in  Zion,  sleep  and  dream  no  longer,  but 
awake!  0 pilgrims  journeying  from  the  city  of 
Destruction  unto  the  Celestial  City,  remember 
Evangelist’s  warning!  0 disciples  of  Jesus,  who 
have  the  power  to  help  and  do  not,  forget  not  the 
vivid  reality  of  Lazarus  and  Dives!  No  man 
can  afford  to  walk  this  earth  with  reckless  steps, 
or  speak  with  careless  tongue,  or  act  with  thought- 
less aim;  nor  can  he  afford  to  answer  lightly  to 
the  call  of  God  to  duty, 

“AM  I MY  brother’s  KEEPER?” 

Oh,  the  voice  of  God,  “What  hast  thou  done? 
The  voice  of  thy  brother’s  blood  crieth  unto  me 
from  the  ground  ” ! Oh,  the  voice  of  God,  that 
says,  “And  now  art  thou  cursed  from  the  earth, 
which  hath  opened  her  mouth  to  receive  thy 
brother’s  blood  from  thy  hand”!  These  words 
are  for  the  thoughtless,  for  the  negligent,  for  the 
listless  soul  that  trifles  with  destiny. 


AN  AWAKENED  CHURCH 


67 


THE  JUDGMENT  IS  COMING, 

and  we  cannot  afford  to  be  sleeping  when  our 
Lord  comes;  and  if  others  fall  through  our 
neglect  of  duty,  we  shall  not  be  found  guiltless. 

On  the  29th  of  March,  1894,  Jim  Godsey,  a 
young  man  of  but  twenty -six  years,  was  placed  on 
trial  at  Terre  Haute,  Indiana,  for  forging  his 
father’s  name  to  an  order  on  a hat  store.  He 
had  no  legal  counsel  and  declined  to  have  any 
appointed  by  the  court.  When  his  father  had 
testified  that  he  had  not  signed  the  order,  the 
son  cross-examined  him.  The  prosecuting  attor- 
ney submitted  the  case  without  argument,  saying 
that  guilt  was  too  clearly  established  to  need  any. 
The  prisoner  then  addressed  the  jury,  and  soon 
the  tears  were  trickling  down  the  cheeks  of  several 
jurors,  and  all  in  the  court  room  were  deeply 
moved.  He  told  how  he  had  spent  his  life,  from 
infancy  until  two  years  before,  in  his  father’s  saloon 
and  gambling  house — the  wickedest  place  of  its 
kind  in  Terre  Haute.  “Two  years  ago,”  said  he, 
“this  father  of  mine,  with  one  foot  in  the  grave, 
pretended  to  repent  and  joined  the  church.  How 
could  I be  other  than  I am,  raised  among  thieves, 
gamblers,  and  blacklegs?  Before  I was  able  to 
see  over  a pool  table  he  [ pointing  at  his  father  ] 
put  a box  at  the  side  of  a table  and  taught  me 


68 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


how  to  play.  The  first  man  who  taught  me 
to  cheat  at  cards  was  my  father.  Some  of  you 
may  have  sons,  but  you  would  not  send  your  son 
to  the  penitentiary  for  $6.20.  I stand  here  with- 
out a friend  on  earth.  You  may  send  me  to  the 
penitentiary,  but  I am  not  wholly  responsible  for 
what  I am.”  Overcome  with  emotion,  he  broke 
down  and  sobbed  as  if  his  heart  would  break. 
The  jury  went  out  at  11  o’clock  in  the  morning, 
and  at  9 o’clock  at  night  returned  a verdict  of 
five  years  in  the  penitentiary.  Which  of  the 
two,  the  father  or  the  son,  will  meet  with  the 
most  mercy  at  the  judgment  ? 


CHAPTER  V 

DO-OLOGY 

Resolutions,  however  good,  never  saved  any 
one.  Resolutions  are  effectual  only  when  they 
are  carried  into  action.  Resolutions  which  are 
based  upon  the  principles  of  righteousness  are  the 
bed-rocks  in  the  foundation  of  character.  There 
has  been  enough  preaching  of  the  gospel  to  save 
the  world,  and  the  only  reason  why  the  world 
has  not  been  saved  before  now  is  because  there 
has  not  been  enough  doing  of  the  gospel.  This 
practical  lesson  on  doing  the  gospel, — of  carrying 
into  practice  what  we  know,  of  joining  works  to 
our  faith, — has  done  more  to  make  the  world 
better  than  all  the  philosophies  and  theories  that 
have  ever  been  given  to  man.  Would  you  be 
prosperous  in  business,  work  your  business;  would 
you  be  happy  in  your  attainments  in  life,  strive 
for  the  excellencies  unto  which  you  aspire;  would 
you  achieve  the  highest  success,  then  do  that 
which  will  bring  success.  This  may  appear  to 
be  an  axiom  so  plain  that  it  needs  no  added 
word  to  make  it  clear  to  the  mind.  But  the  one 

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70 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


great  lesson  we  need  ever  to  have  kept  before  us 
is,  that  “nothing  succeeds  like  success.” 

At  the  call  of  Mr.  Moody  in  the  month  of 
April,  1889,  a great  convention  of  Christian 
workers  from  all  parts  of  the  land  assembled  in 
Chicago,  preparatory  to  the  starting  of  the  now- 
famous  Moody  Institute.  One  who  was  in  a 
position  to  know  said  that  the  establishment  of 

THIS  BIBLE  TRAINING-SCHOOL 

was  the  consummation  of  the  dream  of  Mr. 
Moody’s  life.  The  convention  was  held  in  the 
Chicago  Avenue  Church  (Moody’s  church).  Dur- 
ing the  daytime  there  were  lectures  by  eminent 
men,  from  every  section  of  the  United  States,  on 
the  study  of  the  Bible  and  the  best  methods  of 
doing  Christian  work.  The  convention  was  of 
great  power,  and  lasted  forty  days,  during  which 
time  Mr.  Moody  was  the  controlling  spirit.  It  was 
my  privilege  to  be  present  at  that  forty  days’ 
Pentecost.  It  was,  indeed,  an  exalted  privilege  to 
enjoy  such  blessings,  which  fell  as  a benediction 
upon  our  heads  and  hearts  during  those  days  and 
nights  of  instruction  in  the  Holy  Bible,  and  of 
hallowed  communion  with  one  another  and  with 
God.  Among  the  lecturers  were  such  men  as 
Dr.  W.  W.  Clark  and  Dr.  R.  R.  Meredith,  of 


DO-OLOGY 


71 


Brooklyn,  New  York;  Dr.  W.  G.  Moorehead,  of 
Xenia,  Ohio;  Joseph  Cook,  of  Boston,  Massachu- 
setts; Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones,  of  Georgia;  Dr.  Brooks, 
of  St.  Louis,  Missouri;  Dr.  Munhall,  Dr.  Driver, 
H.  L.  Hastings,  and  many  of  the  well-known 
pastors  of  Chicago,  besides  two  hundred  other 
prominent  workers,  who  came  from  twenty-two 
different  States,  Territories,  and  Provinces.  It 
was,  indeed,  a Pentecost  in  its  spiritual  power  and 
far-reaching  results.  The  daily  study  of  the  Bible, 
in  hallowed  association  with  this  company  of  the 
Lord’s  disciples,  was  a privilege  long  to  be  remem- 
bered. There  seemed  to  be  present  a divine  breath, 
a holy  spiritual  atmosphere,  a sacred  influence, 
sensibly  felt  by  all,  which  made  the  occasion  ever 
memorable  because  of  the  near  approach  to  God. 
Then,  to  make  the  convention  productive  of  the 
greatest  practical  good,  the  evenings  were  utilized 
in  evangelistic  services  that  spread  from 

MOODY  AND  SANKEY’s  SERVICES, 

which  began  in  Moody’s  church  and  extended  in 
every  direction,  until  evangelistic  services  were 
held  in  thirty  other  churches  and  missions 
throughout  the  city.  During  that  Pentecost  of 
forty  days  with  God  and  our  Bibles  some  things 
occurred  of  which  I cannot  refrain  from  speaking, 


72 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


for  it  was  then  that  there  came  to  me  the  supreme 
lesson  of  my  life.  There  was  one  man  as  our 
leader  whose  every  word  and  action  was  a thrill- 
ing inspiration.  All  eyes  were  upon  him.  A 
mighty  power  was  he  in  each  service.  His  good- 
ness and  greatness,  blended  with  simplicity,  won 
all  hearts.  One  remark  was  upon  all  lips:  “What 
makes  the  humble  man  who  directs  these  services, 
and  carries  out  so  effectually  these  plans,  so  suc- 
cessful in  that  he  is  able  to  give  every  one  some- 
thing to  do?  From  whence  comes  his  magnetic 
power  that  is  more  than  magnetism?  What 
sublime  controlling  factor  is  hack  of  his  life?”  I 
resolved  to  study  the  man,  if,  peradventure,  I 
might  discover  the  secret  of  his  power.  Provi- 
dentially, the  way  opened,  and  I embraced  the 
opportunity  to  get  an  inner  glimpse  of 

THE  REAL  MOODY. 

It  occurred  in  a commonplace  incident.  At 
the  close  of  the  morning  services  one  day  he  was 
besieged  by  a dozen  or  more  pastors,  who  earnestly 
pleaded  with  tenacious  importunity  that  he  should 
come  to  their  churches  for  a service.  Each  in 
turn  entreated  him  to  come  to  his  church.  One 
was  going  to  start  a big  revival,  another  was 
going  to  dedicate  a big  new  church,  another  was 


DO-OLOGY 


73 


going  to  close  a big  revival,  and  each  one  of  the 
pastors  had  some  big  inducement  to  secure  his 
services.  After  listening  respectfully  to  each  in 
turn  he  said,  “No;  I cannot  go.”  The  pastor  of  a 
small  mission  church  was  standing  at  a distance 
listening  to  the  repeated  importunity,  and  heard 
Mr.  Moody  repeatedly  decline  to  go.  But  when 
they  were  all  through  he  ventured  to  represent 
the  needs  of  his  mission  church.  In  a frank, 
straightforward  way  he  told  Mr.  Moody  that  he 
had  nothing  big  whatever  to  offer,  but  had  a 
good  revival  in  progress  in  his  needy  little  mis- 
sion church,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  good  that 
could  be  done  he  asked  Mr.  Moody  for  an  evening’s 
service.  Mr.  Moody  turned  to  him  and  in  a 
quick,  business-like  way  said,  “I  will  be  there 
Monday  evening.”  And  when  Monday  evening 
came  he  was  there,  and  an  immense  audience 
was  also  there.  And  there  that  night  such  a 
baptism  of  power  descended  upon  the  people  that 
it  was  like  unto  Pentecost,  an  occasion  never  to  be 
forgotten  by  those  who  were  present.  It  was  at 
this  time  that  one  of  the  workers  borrowed 

MR.  moody’s  OWN  BIBLE. 

This  Bible  Mr.  Moody  has  carried  close  to  his 
heart  on  his  evangelistic  tours  in  many  lands. 


74 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


On  the  fly-leaf  of  this  Bible  is  inscribed,  in  his 
own  handwriting,  these  lines: 

“Do  all  the  good  you  can, 

To  all  the  people  you  can, 

In  all  the  ways  you  can, 

As  long  as  ever  you  can. 

“ I expect  to  pass  through  this  world  but  once. 
If,  therefore,  there  be  any  kindness  I can  do  to 
any  fellow  human  being,  let  me  do  it  now;  let 
me  not  delay  nor  neglect  it,  for  I will  never  pass 
this  way  again.” 

The  secret  of  Mr.  Moody’s  power  was  no  longer 
to  me  a marvel;  all  was  plain.  Consecrated  serv- 
ice to  God  and  his  fellow-men  has  made  his  every 
thought,  and  word,  and  deed  powerful  for  good. 
I forthwith  copied  those  lines  on  the  fly-leaf  of 
my  own  Bible;  then  I prayed  to  Moody’s  God 
for  that  secret  power  with  which  to  do  good;  my 
eyes  were  opened  to  behold  the  world  in  a new 
light;  the  divine  injunction,  “Woe  to  them  that 
are  at  ease  in  Zion,”  flashed  in  upon  my  mind  in 
all  its  thrilling  power.  I walked  the  streets  of 
darkest  Chicago,  and  looked  about  me  for  object 
lessons  and  opportunities  to  do  good;  on  every 
side,  an  “ evil  . . . under  the  sun,”  which  is  “ com- 
mon among  men,”  stared  as  a monster  at  me,  while 
its  accursed  breath  of  death  fanned  me  in  the  face, 


DO-OLOGY 


75 


and  stifled  my  nostrils,  and  sickened  my  heart. 
Every  scene  of  poverty,  every  plea  of  distress,  and 
every  cry  of  the  hungry,  was  a voice  calling  to 
duty.  No  call  in  time  of  war  was  ever  more  ur- 
gent, no  soldier  ever  felt  the  heated  blood  course 
more  rapidly  through  his  veins,  firing  his  heart  to 
battle,  than  did  my  heart  then  feel.  No  alterna- 
tive was  then  mine  to  choose;  to  the  battle  against 
the  monster  I must  go;  to  the  rescue  of  the  thou- 
sands about  to  be  slain  I must  hasten;  to  remove 
this  plague  of  death  from  our  fair  land  I must 
consecrate  my  life,  though  it  be  to  do,  and  dare, 
and  die. 

Mr.  Moody  has  never  been  a stickler  for  theology; 
but  he  has  always  been  an  enthusiast  about  doing 
the  theology  believed.  Jesus  said,  “I  must  work 
the  works  of  him  that  sent  me,  while  it  is  day: 
the  night  cometh,  when  no  man  can  work.” 
These  words  of  our  Divine  Master  should  go  to 

every  Christian’s  conscience. 

This  thought  should  be  burned  into  every  soul. 
The  heart  should  be  quickened  into  new  life,  the 
brain  should  think  faster,  and  the  hands  should 
work  harder.  Jesus  was  never  idle,  hut  was 
always  busy.  His  brain  was  always  thinking,  or 
his  hands  doing  the  prompting  of  a consecrated 


76 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


heart.  The  problem  of  the  world’s  salvation 
weighed  heavily  upon  his  heart.  There  was  no 
time  for  delay;  there  was  no  time  for  trifling; 
something  must  be  done  and  that  quickly. 

A plague  is  in  our  land;  human  beings  are  suf- 
fering; men  are  dying;  souls  are  being  lost,  and 
what  are  we  doing  to  stem  this  awful  tide  of  woe  ? 
Oh,  that  the  fire  that  burned  within  the  soul  of 
the  Son  of  God  might  kindle  ours!  Oh,  that 
each  heart  would  so  feel  this  burden  for  lost 
souls  as  to  stir  it  to  duty ! Oh,  that  every  gospel 
and  temperance  worker  would  enter  this  battle 
thoroughly  committed  against  the  evils  of  in- 
temperance! Christ  died  to  save  this  world. 
Shall  we  stand  idly  by  and  see  souls  lost?  Tre- 
mendous question!  Do  you  believe  in  God  and 
love  your  fellow-men?  Do  you  love  the  right 
and  hate  the  wrong  ? Do  you  stand  committed 
against  this  seventh  plague  of  our  land ? With 
oneness  of  purpose  and  aim,  with  fraternal  spirit 
and  good  will,  with  the  common  interests  of 
humanity  at  heart,  think  not  to  wash  your  hands 
in  innocency  until  you  have  paid  your  debt  of 
duty  to  your  own  conscience,  to  your  fellow-men, 
and  to  your  God.  It  is  too  late  now  to  compro- 
mise with  this  evil  of  evils.  It  is  too  deeply 
dyed  in  sin  to  merit  a place  in  your  heart.  It  is 


DO-OLOGY 


77 


for  you  and  me  to  decide  as  to  what  we  will  do 
with  it.  Some  one  will  say,  “Oh,  liquor  is  all 
right  in  its  place.”  So  is  the  devil  all  right  in 
his  place,  but  that  place  is  hell;  and  they  both 
belong  in  the  same  place.  We  cannot  do  half- 
hearted work  and  be  at  peace  with  our  own 
conscience;  neither  can  we  be  passive  and  please 
■God.  Here  is 

A GOLDEN  RULE 

for  gospel  and  temperance  workers,  a principle  of 
right  that  appeals  to  all,  a platform  upon  which 
all  right-minded  men  can  and  ought  to  stand: 

Do  all  you  possibly  can, 

In  all  the  ways  you  can. 

As  long  as  ever  you  can, 

To  rescue  all  the  people  you  can 
From  sin  and  the  evils  of  intemperance. 

Are  you  working  for  Christ  and  the  church? 
Are  you  working  for  humanity  and  the  home? 
Are  you  working  to  make  the  world  better  and  to 
save  those  in  danger  of  being  lost?  The  world 
is  rushing  madly  to  ruin  with  the  increase  of 
intemperance  and  its  attendant  evils.  What  are 
you  going  to  do  about  it  ? The  church  is  suffer- 
ing because  there  are  not  more  doers  of  the 
word;  likewise,  the  world  is  suffering  because 


78 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


there  are  not  more  doers  to  stem  the  evil 
tide  of  intemperance.  This  plague  is  in  our 
midst.  Do  something;  do  it  quickly;  do  it 
now.  The  perils  of  intemperance  that  beset  us 
are  awful.  Why  do  you,  as  a good  citizen, 
allow  a recruiting  office  of  hell  to  be  set  up 
before  your  very  door,  and  why  do  you  stand 
and  watch  your  own  boys  go  in  there,  and  why 
do  you  see  them  take  their  first  step  to  ruin,  with- 
out a word  of  protest  ? In  the  name  of  God  and 
in  the  interests  of  humanity,  do  something.  Each 
year,  in  our  own  land,  over  one  hundred  thousand 
precious  lives  end  at  a drunkard’s  grave.  0 free- 
men of  America,  sons  of  liberty,  heroes  under  the 
stars  and  stripes,  awake  from  your  stupid  dreams 
and  look  upon  that  funeral  procession  now  pass- 
ing by ! Tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  they  go,  and  every 
five  minutes  one  falls  into  a drunkard’s  grave. 
Look!  One  has  just  fallen.  See!  Another  is 
trembling  on  the  verge.  There,  he  is  gone; 
fallen,  ruined,  lost.  And  the  saddest  thought 
about  it  is,  that  the  larger  portion  of  these  hun- 
dred thousand  lost  began  drinking  in  their  youth 
— in  youth,  that  giddy  period  in  life  when  most 
men  choose  between  heaven  and  hell. 

The  saloons  are  daily  enlisting  from  the  ranks 
of  the  youth  of  our  land 


DO-OLOGY 


79 


AN  ARMY  OF  DRUNKARDS, 

and  so  long  as  the  recruiting  offices  for  hell  are 
kept  open,  the  army  of  drunkards  is  going  to 
increase;  and  there  will  be  saloons  open  by  per- 
mission so  long  as  you  never  do  anything  but 
talk  about  the  sad  consequences  of  drink.  If 
talking  were  all  that  is  necessary,  this  evil 
would  have  been  talked  out  of  existence  long 
ago.  If  resolutions  would  have  suppressed  this 
evil,  we  would  have  had  it  “reso-looted”  out 
of  existence  long  ago.  But  this  evil  is  like  the 
famous  cat,  that  has  seven  lives, — it  needs  to  be 
killed  about  seven  times  to  be  sure  it  is  dead. 

I fear  the  tide  of  this  evil  is  going  to  rise 
higher  before  it  sinks  lower.  The  muttering 
thunders  in  the  distance  threaten  a deluge.  The 
flood  tide,  like  unto  the  days  of  Noah,  sweeps  on 
with  fearful  fury.  What  shall  we  do?  How 
shall  we  escape?  How  shall  we  be  rescued?  It 
is  by  waking  up  and  doing  some  thing.  Noah 
was  saved  from  the  flood  by  practicing  his  do- 
ology,  and  not  by  resting  on  his  theology.  Of 
course  his  theology  was  all  right,  but  he  would 
have  perished  with  the  others  of  his  time  had 
not  his  theology  been  backed  up  by  his  do-ology. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  INACTIVE  NINE-TENTHS 

It  has  been  said,  with  a play  of  humor,  that 
“one-tenth  of  the  church  members  do  nine-tenths 
of  the  work.”  The  statement  may  perhaps  ex- 
aggerate the  facts;  however,  there  is  a large  grain 
of  truth  in  it.  None  of  us,  of  course,  wishes  to  be 
classed  as  one  of  the  inactive  nine-tenths;  we 
rather  prefer  to  slip  the  joke  on  the  other  fellow; 
we  would  rather  he  should  be  called  indifferent 
and  lazy,  than  take  the  admonition  to  ourselves. 
That  is  the  natural  bent  of  human  nature;  that  is 
why  progress  in  good  works  moves  so  slowly;  that 
is  why  the  saloon-keeper  runs  a mile  while  the 
church  member  is  getting  his  boots  on.  Good  is 
stronger  than  evil;  righteousness  is  stronger  than 
sin;  the  church  is  stronger  than  the  saloon,  as 
certainly  as  God  is  stronger  than  Satan.  Who, 
then,  is  to  blame  because  the  saloon  has  such 
power?  Let  us  be  honest  about  this  matter;  let  us 
make  a frank  confession,  ask  the  Lord  to  forgive 
us,  and  pledge  ourselves  to  more  zealous  activity. 
Let  us  be  true  and  brave,  and,  like 

80 


THE  INACTIVE  NINE-TENTHS  81 

Gideon’s  chosen  three  hundred, 

come  out  boldly  for  the  right,  and  allow  God  to 
use  us  in  the  great  temperance  cause.  Why  does 
any  pastor  or  church  member  pray,  “ 0 Lord,  we 
want  a revival,  and  we  want  it  bad;  but  we  pray 
thee,  0 Lord,  to  send  us  a revival  without  mixing 
temperance  with  it.”  When  the  saloon-keeper 
and  his  associates  are  working  night  and  day, 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  in  every  year, 
for  a revival  of  their  business,  without  mixing 
temperance  with  their  revival,  why  do  we  not 
work  in  the  church  as  faithfully  as  the  liquor 
vender  does  in  the  saloon  ? Aye,  the  saloons  do 
not  take  a vacation  even  on  the  one  extra  day  in 
leap  year.  We  speak  figuratively  of  men  and 
women  who  “go  about  doing  good”  as  “angels  in 
disguise,”  and  such  they  are  unto  those  to  whom 
they  go  in  their  ministerings  of  mercy;  and  if 
there  were  more  such  “angels  in  disguise”  we 
would  sooner  reach 

the  millennium. 

What  we  need  in  our  hearts  is  Christ’s  Golden 
Rule;  for  as  long  as  heaven  is  linked  to  earth  in 
our  thoughts  of  a happy  home,  so  long  will 
Christ’s  Golden  Rule  be  the  standard  for  a perfect 

life;  and  though  there  are  faults  in  every  purely 
6 


82 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


human  life,  we  never  weary  in  the  study  of  the 
life  of  Christ.  What  if  it  does  require  stern  dis- 
cipline and  devoted  service  to  win  success!  Your 
happiness  will  only  be  seasoned  with  a more 
sacred  joy  when  the  reward  is  bestowed.  The 
name  of  Peter  the  Great  lives  in  history  as  the 
one  czar  of  Russia  who  left  his  throne  to  work  on 
the  docks  of  London  as  a ship  carpenter  that  he 
might  rival  the  best  ship-builders  of  his  time. 
And  likewise  the  Nazarene  carpenter  condescended 
to  humility  and  left  his  heavenly  throne  to  serve 
humanity,  and  for  this  cause  he  will  forever  be 
enthroned  in  the  affections  of  mankind.  Jesus 
exalted  service  and  made  it  honorable.  He  taught, 
“Whosoever  will  be  chief  among  you,  let  him 
be  your  servant:  even  as  the  Son  of  man  came 
not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and 
to  give  his  life  a ransom  for  many.”  Whatever 
else  may  be  said  of 

JOAN  OP  ARC, 

the  verdict  of  history  is  such  that  France  has 
never  forgotten  the  service  she  rendered  her  peo- 
ple in  the  time  of  a much-needed  military  leader. 
She  had  a conviction  that  she,  though  only  a girl, 
could  fill  that  place  of  leadership;  she  told  of  the 
patriotism  that  burned  within  her  soul;  she  told 


THE  INACTIVE  NINE-TENTHS 


sa 


of  her  visions  and  the  heavenly  voices  she  had 
heard;  she  told  of  her  faith  in  victory,  if  they 
would  but  follow  her  as  leader.  With  the  cour- 
age of  her  convictions,  she  stepped  to  the  front 
and  led  the  way ; with  faith  in  her  star  of  hope,  a 
conquering  army  followed  her  as  leader.  You. 
know  the  result.  Her  brief  but  brilliant  career 
changed  the  current  of  the  history  of  her  time; 
the  clashing  empires  of  the  world  were  startled, 
and  thrones  trembled  at  this  earthquake  among 
the  common  people,  who  believed  in  destiny  and 
the  final  triumph  of  right  over  wrong. 

Who  does  not  know  that 

THE  SERVICES  OF  OLIVER  CROMWELL 

broke  the  iron  chains  of  lordly  and  despotic 
tyranny,  and  gave  the  common  people  of  Eng- 
land a chance  for  a while  to  breathe  the  invigor- 
ating air  of  freedom.  Once,  when  Cromwell 
arose  to  address  the  House,  Lord  Digby  inquired, 
“Who  is  that  sloven?”  “Cromwell,”  answered 
Hampden;  and  then  added,  “That  sloven  whom 
you  see  before  you  has  no  ornament  in  his  speech, 
but  if  we  should  ever  come  to  a breach  with  the 
king  that  sloven,  I say,  will  be  the  greatest  man 
in  England.”  That  breach  with  the  king  did 
come,  and  those  prophetic  words  concerning  Crom- 


84 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


well  were  fulfilled.  Cromwell  did  not  have  the 
faculty  of  catering  to  the  notions  of  the  lords,  but 
he  did  know  how  to  serve  the  best  interests  of  all 
England.  In  all  ages  God  has  set  his  seal  of 
approval  upon  devout,  acceptable  service,  and 
with  his  approval  is  bestowed  life’s  blessing 
crowned.  Likewise,  the  world  has  recognized  in 
consecrated  service  the  healing  balm  for  the  ills 
of  humanity.  Mankind  have  gone  wrong,  and 
the  woes  of  mankind  through  intemperance,  in 
their  far-reaching  consequences,  have  become 

THE  GREATEST  WRONG  OF  OUR  AGE. 

Through  the  evils  of  intemperance  many  have 
gone  so  far  astray  as  to  be  heedless  of  the  quiet 
whisperings  of  conscience,  and  even  the  striving 
of  the  Divine  Spirit  with  their  soul  alone  availed 
not  in  their  choosing  the  right.  Hence,  Christ 
came  to  earth,  and  since  his  return  to  heaven 
some  other  human  life,  with  a heart  of  compas- 
sion like  unto  the  compassionate  heart  of  Christ, 
has  been  sent  to  win  man  back  to  God.  There- 
fore, if  you  have  an  opportunity  to  win  some 
wandering  prodigal  from  his  wayward  life,  do  not 
wait  for  the  priest  or  Levite  to  do  that  good  act 
for  you.  The  priest  or  Levite  may  overlook  some 
wayside  unfortunate,  and  he  may  do  so  through 


THE  INACTIVE  NINE-TENTHS 


85 


neglect,  and  his  neglect  may  cost  him  his  crown. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  you  be  that  good  Samaritan, 
and  get  a good  Samaritan’s  reward.  The  Bible 
was  given  to  assure  us  that  in  all  things 

GOD  IS  MINDFUL  OF  US. 

The  Bible  is  the  best  book  for  the  drinking  man, 
because  it  tells  him  of  Jesus,  the  sinner’s  best 
friend,  and  his  next  best  friend  is  a true  disciple 
of  Jesus  who  is  willing  to  work  for  the  drunk- 
ard’s rescue. 

It  does  us  good  to  enter  into  sympathy  with 
those  who  have  such  marvelous  faith  as  to  trust 
themselves  devoutly  to  the  directing  Hand  divine; 
it  does  us  good  to  read  of  “the  angel  of  the  Lord 
calling  unto  Abraham  out  of  heaven,”  and  assur- 
ing him  that,  because  of  his  faith,  “shall  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed”;  and  it  does  us 
good  to  hear  the  “thus  saith  the  Lord  to  his 
anointed”:  “I  will  go  before  thee,  and  make  the 
crooked  places  straight.”  The  thought  of  these 
things,  I say,  does  us  good.  To  have  faith  in 
God,  and  feel  that  he  has  an  interest  in  our  wel- 
fare, soothes  our  sorrows  and  sets  our  restless  souls 
at  rest.  It  is  a comfort,  indeed,  to  repose  in  pre- 
cious confidence  under  the  overshadowing  shield 
of  God’s  protecting  care,  and  enjoy  rest,  sweet 


86 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


rest.  This  we  can  all  do:  we  can  point  the  drink- 
ing man  to  Christ  for  salvation  from  the  awful 
slavery  of  drink;  and  you  may  be  sure  that,  if 
you  do  not  work  for  the  Lord,  the  devil  will  get 
you  to  work  for  him. 

Some  one  has  said  that 

“the  idler’s  brain 

is  the  devil’s  work-shop.”  Now,  if  the  devil 
should  walk  along  the  street  with  his  horns  stick- 
ing out,  and  his  cloven  foot  in  plain  sight,  there 
is  not  a gambler,  nor  thief,  nor  saloon-keeper,  nor 
dive-keeper  in  the  city  who  would  be  seen  in  his 
company.  Now  don’t  throw  down  this  book  for 
just  a minute;  be  patient,  and  read  a few  lines 
more.  Now,  inasmuch  as  you  would  not  be 
seen  with  the  devil  on  the  street  in  broad  day- 
light before  everybody  else,  do  not  be  caught  with 
him  in  a dark  cellar,  or  behind  a screen  door! 
It  is  a humiliating  thing  to  have  the  old,  black 
traitor  take  off  his  cloak  right  before  the  biggest 
crowd  he  can  get  you  into,  and  then  show  his 
horns  and  cloven  foot.  But  that  is  what  he  is 
doing  with  many  good  (?)  people  every  day;  it  is 
not  because  good  (?)  people  intend  to  keep  his 
company  that  they  get  into  such  trouble,  but 
only 


THE  INACTIVE  NINE-TENTHS 


87 


BECAUSE  THEY  ARE  IDLE  AND  INACTIVE. 

When  the  old  black  traitor  comes  along  the  street, 
as  an  angel  of  light,  with  his  face  powdered  and 
his  horns  and  cloven  foot  covered  up,  he  always 
makes  straight  for  the  idle  and  inactive  saint  (?), 
and  nine  times  out  of  ten — because  he  has  noth- 
ing else  to  do — he  or  she,  as  the  case  may  be, 
takes  his  offered  arm  and  walks  rejoicingly  down 
the  street  with  him  and  feels  perfectly  delighted 
at  the  thought  of  mingling  in  the  society  of  an 
‘‘'angel  of  light.”  Of  course,  such  a one  is  ignorant 
of  his  real  personality.  Then  the  old  arch  traitor 
always  stops  in  the  biggest  crowd,  and  shows  his 
horns  and  cloven  foot.  Now  this  has  been  the 
experience  of  many  good  (?)  people;  then  all 
other  good  people  suffer,  because  some  one  has 
trifled  away  the  best  of  his  life  by  carelessly  and 
thoughtlessly  serving  the  devil  when  he  should 
have  been  actively  serving  the  Lord.  General 
Booth,  founder  of  the  Salvation  Army,  has  moved 
the  whole  world  to  greater  activity  by  his  earnest 
plea  for  “the  submerged  one-tenth.”  The  awful 
woes  and  distress  of  the  one-tenth  who  infest  the 
slums  of  our  great  cities,  are  produced  largely  by 
the  saloons  and  their  debasing  annexes.  This 
fact  should 


88 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


STIMULATE  US  TO  VIGOROUS,  ACTIVE  EFFORT. 

The  story  of  the  woes  and  distress  of  the 
unfortunates  has  already  aroused  many  of  the 
inactive  nine-tenths  to  duty.  But  it  is  lamentably 
true  that  there  is  yet  a large  number  of  good 
people  unemployed  in  self-sacrificing  gospel  and 
temperance  work.  There  is  a large  number  who 
have  not  yet  felt  conviction  as  to  the  do  of  the 
gospel.  So  broad  is  this  field — inviting  the  co- 
operation of  every  willing  worker — and  so  great 
is  the  evil  of  intemperance,  that  there  is  no  one 
who  ought  not  to  do  his  part  in  helping  stem  the 
coming  flood  tide  of  destruction.  A great  temper- 
ance revival  is  now  sweeping  over  the  churches 
of  our  land,  and  the  better  class  of  all  good  citizens 
are  beginning  to  take  a stand  against  this  evil,  a 
stand  that  favors  personal  total  abstinence  and  de- 
cided action  to  prevent  the  further  spread  of  this 
evil.  But  we  have  only  just  begun  to  get  our  eyes 
open;  we  have  only  just  begun  to  stretch  ourselves 
after  a sleep  of  indifference  that  is  painfully  rebuk- 
ing to  us  when  we  look  upon  the  past  record. 

To  our  surprise, 

THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE  OF  OUR  LAND 

have  awakened  an  interest  by  their  zealous  en- 
thusiasm that  has  moved  the  whole  country. 


THE  INACTIVE  NINE-TENTHS 


89 


Armies  of  consecrated  young  people  are  already 
in  the  forefront  of  the  battle.  There  is  a shout 
of  victory  now  going  up  that  is  making  heaven 
glad  and  earth  rejoice.  The  watchword  of  “For- 
ward” is  going  down  the  line;  the  young 
soldier  blood  is  growing  hot  with  burning  zeal, 
and  new  hope  is  inspiring  the  fainting  hearts 
of  the  over-worked  one-tenth,  who  for  so  long 
a time  have  been  doing  nine-tenths  of  the  work. 

There  is  no  reason  why  there  should  be  more 
saloons  than  churches.  There  is  no  reason  why 
there  should  be  more  places  dealing  out  the  bev- 
erage of  death  than  there  are  dealing  out  the 
“water  of  life.”  There  is  no  reason  why  there 
should  be  more  patrons  of  the  accursed  beverage 
of  death  than  communicants  who  are  partakers 
of  the  cup  of  the  divine  blessing. 

However,  I firmly  believe  that 

THE  CHURCH  OP  GOD  ON  EARTH, 

with  faith  in  the  God  of  heaven,  has  now  entered 
this  conflict  to  battle  until  her  efforts  shall  be 
crowned  with  triumphant  victory.  The  various 
churches  of  all  denominations  are  waking  up,  in- 
cluding the  old  Catholic  Church.  Progress  is  be- 
ing made  along  all  lines;  the  cup  that  intoxi- 
cates is  no  longer  the  approved  cup  of  our  Lord 


90 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


at  communion;  understand  me,  fermented,  intoxi- 
cating wine,  though  tolerated  by  a few  churches, — 
but  thank  God  they  are  a few, — is  no  longer 
generally  approved ; and  conviction  is  growing  so 
rapidly  along  this  line,  that  we  hope  that  in  the 
near  future  the  intoxicating  wine  at  communion 
will  be  abolished  from  every  church  in  the  land. 
This  will  take  the  temperance  cause  a long  step 
forward.  The  conscience  of  all  good  people  is 
now  more  sensitive  upon  the  enormous  evils  of 
intemperance  than  ever  before.  Though  in  some 
places  the  friends  of  temperance  are  inactive, 
the  cause  is  not  dead.  It  is  with  pain,  and 
sorrow,  and  regret  that  we  observe  that  any- 
where such  inactivity  exists,  but  it  will  not 
always  be  so;  there  is  still  a God  in  heaven 
who  also  rules  the  destinies  of  earth;  and  there 
are  yet  a few  Elijahs,  and  a few  faithful  and 
true, — like  Gideon’s  heroic  three  hundred, — and 
the  battle  is  the  Lord’s.  God  is  a factor  that 
must  be  counted  in  this  battle,  and  we  should 
always  count  him  in  as  our  source  of  greatest 
power  in  battling  with  the  powers  of  darkness. 

Sometimes  it  requires  more  courage,  grace,  and 
patience 

TO  AROUSE  THE  INACTIVE 

than  it  does  to  fight  the  real  battles.  Jesus  never 


THE  INACTIVE  NINE-TENTHS 


91 


had  so  hard  a time  in  convincing  the  unbelieving- 
sinner  of  the  error  of  his  way  as  he  did  in  con- 
vincing the  self-righteous  Pharisee  who  was 
neglecting  his  plain  duty.  It  is  the  inactive  pro- 
fessor who  always  gets  alarmed  over  a revival; 
it  is  the  man  who  has  a secret  jug  in  his  cellar 
who  always  opposes  a special  effort  in  revival 
work  to  rescue  drunkards,  especially  if  he  is  urged 
to  do  all  he  can,  by  personal  example  as  a total 
abstainer,  and  personal  effort  as  a worker.  Such 
men  never  create  a sensation  because  of  their  zeal 
for  the  temperance  cause,  unless,  as  old  General 
Jackson  said  of  a cowardly,  worthless  officer  who 
had  been  wounded,  “it  must  have  been  by  an  acci- 
dental discharge  of  his  duty.”  Too  many  people 
are  afraid  of  a sensation  in  temperance  and  reli- 
gion. We  should  not  be  afraid  of  a sensation  if 
it  is  of  the  right  kind.  The  entire  life  of  Jesus 
was  a sensation,  hut  it  was  the  right  kind  of  a 
sensation.  We  wonder  now,  as  we  look  back  to 
the  times  of  Jesus, — we  wonder  at  the  hardness 
of  heart;  we  wonder  at  the  hard-hearted  people 
who  drove  Jesus  out  of  their  country,  because  he 
cast  a legion  of  devils  out  of  an  unfortunate  man, 
and  because  the  devils  entered  into  a herd  of 
swine,  and  ran  down  “a  steep  place  into  the  sea, 
and  perished  in  the  waters” — perished,  both  the 


92 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


devils  and  the  swine.  But  I personally  know  of  a 
case  where  a devoted  gospel  minister,  who,  because- 
he  worked  to  cast  the  demon  of  drink  out  of  men, 
was  driven  out  of  town,  and  this  was  done  when 
nothing  but  pure  gospel  temperance  was  preached, 
and  preached  in  the  Master’s  spirit  of  love  and 
kindness;  and  this  was  done  in  the  face  of  the 
reformation  of  several  of  the  worst  drunkards  in 
the  town — a reformation  that  not  only  meant  a 
pledge  to  total  abstinence,  but  also  included  their 
genuine  conversion  and  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ 
as  their  Saviour.  How  can  such  bitter  opposition 
be  accounted  for  ? It  is  to  me,  indeed,  a marvel. 
How  can  it  be  accounted  for,  when  not  even  a 
single  head  of  swine  was  lost?  I don’t  know, 
and  never  could  guess,  unless,  for  want  of  a herd 
of  swine,  the  legion  of  devils  which  had  been 
cast  out  of 

THE  POOR  OLD  DRUNKARDS 

had  entered  into  those  who  raised  the  bitter 
opposition.  We  are  living  in  perilous  times. 
Truly,  “the  devil  is  going  about  seeking  whom 
he  may  devour,”  and  the  most  painful  thought 
about  it  is  that  many  good  (?)  people,  by  their 
inactivity  and  indifference,  too  often  practically 
help  (though,  perhaps,  unintentionally)  the  devil 


THE  INACTIVE  NINE-TENTHS 


93 


in  his  destructive  work.  At  best,  the  faithful 
one-tenth  have  a hard  battle  fighting  the  devil, 
but  it  is  harder  still  to  overcome  the  stolid  indif- 
ference of  the  inactive  nine-tenths.  * But  this 
stolid  indifference  will  not  always  obtain.  God, 
by  his  unseen  Spirit,  is  working  in  the  hearts 
of  men.  He  will  certainly  answer  the  prayer  of 
his  own  beloved  Son,  and  he  will  finally  unite 
the  disciples  of  his  Son  and  make  them  “perfect 
in  one”  in  all  the  world.  Until  then  we  must 
labor  unceasingly  to  stimulate  to  action  the  whole 
church  and  the  whole  world;  for  victory,  final 
victory,  is  only  a question  of  time. 


CHAPTER  VII 
SAVE  THE  BOYS 

Save  the  boys;  at  whatever  cost,  save  the  boys. 
For  if  we  do  not  save  the  boys  of  to-day  we  will 
lose  the  men  of  to-morrow.  Do  not  say,  “ There 
is  time  enough  yet.”  That  habit  of  delaying,  on 
the  part  of  parents,  has  often  been  a fatal  mistake, 
and  only  discovered  when  it  was  too  late.  Do 
not  call  your  boy  too  young  to  sign  and  keep  the 
pledge.  Do  not  neglect  your  duty  to  start  the 
feet  of  your  little  boy  on  the  safe  path  to  virtue 
and  sobriety  while  he  is  yet  young.  But  remember 
that  boys  are  boys,  with  all  their  life  and  mischief; 
and  for  my  part  I would  not  have  them  other- 
wise. Boys  make  mistakes,  but  if  the  parent 
will  “train  up  a child  in  the  way  he  should  go, 
when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it.”  After 
all,  when  he  is  absent  how  we  miss  our  mischief- 
making boy.  The  vacant  chair  at  the  table,  the 
empty  trundle-bed,  the  strange  silence!  Try  as 
we  may  to  find  a substitute  for  his  noise  in  the 
most  charming  music  of  invented  instruments, 
yet  something  is  wanting.  Unconsciously  we  find 
94 


SAVE  THE  BOYS 


95 


ourselves  listening  for  the  coarse,  boisterous,  joking 
laugh,  or  the  run,  hop,  skip,  and  jump  in  the 
hall.  It  is'  music  from  nature,  and  even  in  its 
roughest  tones  it  is  music  still.  God  has  given 
elasticity  to  his  little  limbs — what  if  he  does  play 
“leap  frog”?  God  has  put  genius  and  thought 
into  his  little  brain — what  if  he  does  exhibit 
shrewdness  ? God  has  tuned  his  little  voice  to  a 
heavenly  harp — what  if  he  does  ask  questions? 
You  would  prize  him  more  if  he  were  gone.  Only 
start  him  right  in  life  and  counsel  him  to  keep 
on  the  right  track  and  let  him  go  ahead. 

Bishop  Matthew  Simpson,  the  greatest  orator 
that  the  Methodist  denomination  ever  produced, 
once  said  of  himself  that  in  youth  his  passions 
were  like  two  fiery  steeds,  seemingly  hurrying  him 
to  destruction,  but  turned  in  the  right  direction 
they  proved  to  be  the  secret  of  his  marvelous 
success;  and  in  one  sentence  he  thus  summed  up 
all:  “The  voices  that  spoke  to  me  when  a child 

are  now  speaking  through  me  to  the  world.” 
About  some  things  you  can  learn  more  in  an 
hour  from  your  innocent,  happy,  rollicking  boy, 
than  you  can  learn  out  of  books  in  a year.  For 
weeks 

YOU  HAVE  HAD  A TROUBLE, 

and  you  have  been  trying  to  get  rid  of  it.  Notice 


96 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


when  that  boy  has  a trouble.  For  a few  moments 
he  weeps  passionately,  and  a few  moments  later 
he  has  forgotten  it  all,  and  is  at  his  play  again, 
or  has  gone  to  sleep,  and  is  calmly  resting  in 
the  land  of  dreams.  Go  now  to  his  bedside;  look 
into  his  peaceful  face  asleep,  at  rest,  and  learn 
something.  Some  one  has  called  children  “sun- 
beams in  the  home,”  which  is  a very  true  saying. 
Stay  at  that  bedside  a moment  longer;  look  again 
into  that  peaceful  face;  carry  away  that  photo- 
graph in  your  memory,  and  you  will  be  a better 
man.  We  wonder  sometimes  at  the  patience  of 
the  poor,  who  struggle  and  toil  through  hard- 
ships sore  to  keep  the  wolf  of  hunger  and  want 
from  their  door.  We  wonder,  I say;  but  there  is 
more  delight  and  sunlight  to  those  parents  in  the 
smiling,  upturned  faces  and  sparkling  eyes,  beg- 
ging for  kisses  and  asking  for  favors,  than  in  all 
the  world  besides.  See  Benjamin  West,  in  youth 
making  brushes  out  of  the  old  cat’s  fur  and 
begging  colors  from  the  Indians,  and  then  painting 
from  nature  beautiful  pictures  for  his  forest  home. 
Encouraged  then  by  his  mother’s  caresses,  we 
hear  of  him  afterward  speaking  with  emotion, 
from  the  lofty  heights  of  fame  to  which  he  had 
attained,  and  saying,  “My  mother’s  kiss  made 
me  a painter.”  Study  your  boy  in  the  days  of 


SAVE  THE  BOYS 


97 


his  innocence.  He  is  full  of  vigor  and  life;  he  is 
full  of  invention  and  genius,  and  in  his  soul  is  the 
spirit  of  inquiry  and  progress.  Gain  his  confidence, 
and  he  is  generous  and  kind,  and  will  share  his 
dinner  or  his  toys.  He  is  as  full  of  love  as  the 
rose  is  of  perfume;  treat  him  kindly,  and  he  will 
ever  be  your  friend. 

To  every  life  there  is  a turning-point,  a mo- 
ment of  decision,  an  hour  when  a purpose  in  life 
is  fixed.  At  what  age  in  life  this  turning-point 
is  reached  differs  with  individuals.  Some  persons 
at  a very  early  age  choose  their  field  of  useful- 
ness in  life.  The  father  of  Agassiz,  the  great  natu- 
ralist, designed  his  boy  to  follow  a commercial  life; 
but  young  Agassiz  turned  to  nature,  and  instead 
studied  frogs  and  fishes;  and  in  this  he  became 
an  enthusiast  and  made  tours  on  foot  through 
Europe  to  examine  the  different  species  of  fishes. 

WHILE  YET  A BOY 

he  went  to  London  with  letters  of  introduction  to 
Sir  Roderick  Murchison. 

“You  have  been  studying  nature,”  said  the 
great  man  to  him  bluntly;  “and  what  have  you 
learned  ? ” 

The  bashful  youth  replied,  “I  think  I know  a 
little  about  fishes.” 


7 


98 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


At  a meeting  of  the  Royal  Society  one  evening, 
Sir  Roderick  called  upon  young  Agassiz  to  sketch 
for  him  upon  the  blackboard  his  idea  of  a cer- 
tain extinct  species  of  fish  which  had  existed 
long  before  man.  In  a moment  it  was  done. 
Then  Sir  Roderick  brought  from  the  museum 
an  antiquated  skeleton  of  the  original  species 
of  fish.  The  sketch  was  compared  with  the 
skeleton.  It  was  correct  in  every  bone  and  line. 
The  old  doctors  burst  into  loud  applause. 

In  telling  the  story  afterward  Agassiz  said: 
“That  was  the  proudest  moment  of  my  life — no, 
the  happiest;  for  then  I knew  my  father  would 
consent  that  I should  give  my  life  to  science.” 

A similar  case  is  furnished  in  that  of  Michael 
Angelo.  His  father  had  planned  a great  political 
career  for  his  son,  and  despised  the  idea  of  his 
boy  being  what  he  called  a “dauber  and  a 
mason.”  One  day  Michael  visited  the  Gardens 
of  St.  Mark,  in  Florence.  Prince  Lorenzo  de’ 
Medici  was  then  its  great  patron  of  art.  With 
a desire  to  become  an  artist,  young  Michael 
secured  permission  of  the  workmen  to  try  his 
hand  as  a sculptor.  The  model  was  a faun. 
Day  after  day  he  worked  hard  and  long.  One 
morning,  on  returning  to  work,  he  observed  the 
faun  was  gone.  A man  standing  near  by  informed 


SAVE  THE  BOYS 


99 


him  that  it  had  been  taken  to  the  palace  of  the 
prince.  The  boy,  as  naturally  he  would,  ex- 
pressed regret  that  his  unfinished  faun  had  been 
placed  among  Lorenzo’s  choice  collection  of  art 
specimens,  lest  the  prince  should  be  displeased. 
But,  to  the  boy’s  greater  surprise,  the  man  de- 
clared that  he  himself  was  Prince  Lorenzo  de’ 
Medici.  Then,  turning  to  Michael  Angelo,  Lo- 
renzo said,  “Henceforth  you  shall  be  counted 
as  my  son,  for  you  are  destined  to  become  one 
of  the  great  masters  of  art.” 

If  there  are 

ELEMENTS  OF  SUCCESS  IN  YOUE  BOY, 

do  not  suppress  them,  but  let  them  have  an 
opportunity  for  development.  There  is  a familiar 
proverb  that  “coming  events  cast  their  shadows 
before”  them;  so  it  is  with  the  coming  man — the 
elements  of  greatness  are  often  foreshadowed  in 
early  life.  Of  Napoleon  it  has  been  said,  “He 
was  Napoleon  when  a boy.”  History  repeats  it- 
self. The  events  of  to-day  will  be  repeated  to- 
morrow, and  we  look  upon  that  boy  of  to-day  as 
the  man  who  will  solve  the  problems  of  to-mor- 
row. Rightly  studied,  he  benefits  us,  and  by 
rightly  teaching  him  he  is  benefited;  by  doing 
our  duty  to  him  now  we  may  place  in  his  hands 


100 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


the  lever  with  which  to  lift  the  burdens  of  the 
dawning  age.  Teach  your  boy  what  is  right  and 
it  will  never  fade  from  his  memory.  Said  Dean 
Stanley,  “ I once  visited  an  aged  statesman  and  he 
repeated  to  me  word  for  word  an  evening  hymn 
as  he  learned  it  ninety  years  before.”  There  is  a 
charm  to  youth  which  we  can  never  forget.  The 
poet  has  thus  expressed  it  in  elegant  verse;  he 
first  describes  a barefoot  boy,  who  wishes  he  could 
change  places  with  a millionaire: 

“’Tis  evening,  and  the  round,  red  sun 
Sinks  slowly  in  the  west; 

The  flowers  fold  their  petals  up, 

The  birds  fly  to  their  nests. 

The  crickets  chirrup  in  the  grass, 

The  bats  wheel  to  and  fro; 

And  tinkle  tankle  up  the  lane 
The  lowing  cattle  go. 

And  the  rich  man  from  his  carriage 
Looks  out  on  them  as  they  come  — 

On  them,  and  the  barefoot  boy 
That  drives  the  cattle  home. 

‘I  wish/  the  boy  said  to  himself, 

‘I  wras  that  millionaire; 

I’d  have  a palace  of  my  own 
And  never  know  a care: 

There  is  no  wish  that  heart  could  frame 
I would  not  gratify; 

There  would  not  be  in  all  the  world 
A happier  man  than  I! 

What  joy  *t  would  be  to  lead  a life 
Where  cares  would  never  come, 

And  be  no  more  the  barefoot  boy 
That  drives  the  cattle  home.’” 


SAVE  THE  BOYS 


101 


This  same  barefoot  boy,  grown  to  manhood, 
also  becomes  a millionaire;  then,  as  he  thinks  of 

THE  HAPPY  DAYS  OF  YOUTH, 

in  contrast  with  his  life  of  care,  he  wishes  him- 
self the  barefoot  boy  again. 

“And  the  rich  man  sighs  unto  himself 
* My  wealth  I ’d  gladly  give, 

Could  I live  another  life  than 
That  which  now  I live, — 

Could  I leave  behind  the  dust  and  glare 
And  tumult  of  the  town, 

And  sleep  at  night  without  a care 
If  stocks  went  up  or  down. 

Oh,  I’d  give  my  palace  and  my  yacht 
That  sails  the  ocean  foam, 

To  be  once  more  the  barefoot  boy 
That  drives  the  cattle  home.’  ” 

Let  me  repeat  it,  that  you  may  never  forget  it. 
Youth  is  a charm,  a diamond  charm  set  in  a 
golden  casket,  and  through  all  the  changing 
scenes  of  time  it  ever  holds  fast  to  memory. 
During  these  happy  days  of  childhood  we  should 
put  forth  our  every  effort  to  save  our  boys  and 
keep  them  from  the  awful  snares  of  intemperance. 
Whenever  a boy  is  old  enough  to  walk  in  at  the 
open  door  of  a saloon  he  is  old  enough  to  raise 
his  little  hand  to  God  and  take  the  temperance 
pledge;  and  if  you  as  parents  will  encourage 
his  little  heart  in  his  good  resolve,  he  will  grow 


102 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


up  into  manhood’s  years  with  that  pledge  un- 
broken. 

1 One  day  I stepped  into  a barber-shop  on 
Archer  Avenue,  Chicago,  and,  while  waiting  for 
the  tonsorial  artist,  the  barber’s  little  son,  about 
two  years  old,  was  scampering  around  the  room. 
I love  children,  and  while  waiting  my  turn  I 
engaged  the  attention  of  the  child.  He  was  a 
beautiful  child,  and  his  merry,  prattling  voice 
was  music  indeed.  His  chubby  little  hand  was 
placed  in  mine;  his  sparkling  eyes  and  rosy 
cheeks,  and  his  sweet  face,  lighted  up  with  a 
loving  smile,  reminded  me  of  my  own  baby  boy. 
As  I mused  on  his  prospects  for  a happy  future, 
I took  him  in  my  arms  and  pressed  him  to  my 
heart.  I looked  into  his  clear  blue  eyes,  and 
they  mirrored  the  innocent,  spotless  soul  within; 
and  in  my  vision  I looked  down 

THE  YEARS  OF  HIS  LIFE 

and  thought  of  the  joy  he  would  bring  to  that 
home;  I thought  of  the  promise  in  his  youth  and 
young  manhood,  and  the  comfort  he  would  be  to 
his  parents  as  a support  in  their  old  age;  and  I 
thought  of  the  joy  he  would  bring  to  that  home. 
I thought  of  the  possibilities  before  him  for  doing 
good  and  achieving  success,  just  as  if  he  were  my 


SAVE  THE  BOYS 


103 


own  boy.  Presently  the  door  opened  and  the  little 
feet  were  heard  pattering  on  the  sidewalk,  going 
up  the  street;  the  father  was  busy,  so  I went  out 
and  followed  the  little  feet,  overtook  him,  and  said: 
“My  boy,  where  are  you  going?” 

His  baby  voice  answered,  “I’s  dist — doin — to 
— dit — a — pint — of — beer;  I’s  dist — doin — to 
— dit — a — pint — of  — beer.” 

And  then  I looked  a few  rods  ahead  of  him 
and  saw  the  open  door  of  a saloon.  Oh,  what 
thoughts  and  feelings  flooded  my  mind  and  heart 
at  that  moment!  My  former  bright  vision  of  his 
future  vanished,  and  I dare  not  paint  to  you  that 
other  vision  which  arose  in  my  mind.  The  words 
of  that  baby  boy  have  been  ringing  in  my  ears 
ever  since,  “ I ’s — dist — doin — to — dit — a — pint — 
of — beer;  I ’s — dist — doin — to — dit — a — pint — of 
beer”;  and  if  he  should  go  through  life  that  way, 
with  his  brain  crazed  with  beer,  I wondered 
where  else  he  would  go. 

There  are  two  pictures  now  in  my  mind,  and  I 
trust  that  you  may  now  see  them  as  vividly  as  I 
do,  and  trust  that  they  may  forever  live  in  your 
memory.  There  is  a boy  pure,  true,  and  full  of 
hope.  Gentle  hands  have  kindly  caressed  him 
from  his  youth;  from  the  cradle  the  watchful 
care  of  his  mother  has  been  like  that  of  a guard- 


104 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


ian  angel.  Nightly  his  father  has  prayed  that 
he  might  have  divine  guidance  through  all  life’s 
stormy  trials.  In  every  trying  temptation  the 
sympathy  of  friends  has  been  his  strong  defense. 
With  a purpose  true  and  a stainless  character  he 
steps  out  into  the  world  to  battle  for  the  right. 
He  projects  the  force  of  his  whole  life  toward  the 
goal  of  success  and  he  succeeds,  and  in  life’s  great 
battle  he  proves  himself  a man.  We  call  his 
name  George,  because  we  are  reminded  of  the 
model  life  of  that  other  George  whose  name 
lives  in  history  as  an  exemplary  boy,  and  who 
became  a model  man,  and  whose  boyhood  is 
connected  with  the  story  of  the  hatchet  and  the 
cherry  tree,  and  who  in  manhood  became  the 
first  President  of  the  United  States — 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

Unto  that  typical  American  the  mothers  of  our 
land  have  pointed  their  boys  with  pride  for  over 
a century,  and  have  hoped  and  prayed  that  they 
might  be  like  him.  Then  I see  another  boy: 
from  infancy  he  has  been  misfortune’s  mark ; 
his  heart  was  once  tender  as  that  of  any  other 
innocent  child;  orphaned  at  a very  early  age,  he 
has  wandered  lonely  and  friendless  in  a cold 
world.  During  the  tender  years  of  youth  he  was 


SAVE  THE  BOYS 


105 


sent  adrift  where  the  very  atmosphere  was  tainted 
with  sin;  with  others  he  took  to  the  cup  and  tried 
to  drown  his  troubles  in  drink;  but  as  he  drank 
the  cup  to  its  bitter  dregs  he  found  that  he  was 
sinking  to  deeper  depths  of  woe.  In  the  linger- 
ing strength  of  his  wasted  life  he  tried  to  repent 
and  reform;  but  the  cold  world  was  against  him. 
He  feels  that  these  words  of  the  poet  Savage  fit- 
tingly describe  his  condition: 

“Oh,  fate  of  late  repentance  always  vain, 

Thy  remedies  but  lull  undying  pain. 

Where  shall  my  hope  find  rest?  No  mother’s  care 
Shielded  my  infant  innocence  with  prayer; 

No  father’s  hand  my  youth  maintained, 

Called  forth  my  virtues  and  from  vice  restrained.” 

He  finds  himself  in  the  byways  of  sin;  he 
finds  the  tempter  seeking  his  ruin,  and  he  finds 
out  he  is  lost.  As  he  goes  down  hill  every  one 
gives  him  a kick,  and  step  by  step  downward  he 
goes.  He  loses  friends,  he  loses  courage,  he  loses 
hope.  But  just  as  he  is  about  to  give  up  in 
despair  some  one  with  a kind  heart  gives  him  a 
helpful  lift  and  speaks  to  him  a kind  word  and 
he  stands  upon  his  feet  again.  He  is  asked  to 
sign  and  keep  the  pledge — God  helping.  The 
dormant  powers  of  his  soul  awaken;  he  begins  to 
feel  the  returning  joy  of  the  consciousness  of 
latent  manhood.  He  was  lost,  but  now  he  is  res- 


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cued.  We  call  his  name  John,  because  we  know 
of  another  John  who  was  so  much  like  him — 

JOHN  B.  GOUGH. 

John  B.  Gough,  you  remember,  made  up  his 
mind  at  one  time  that  he  was  lost;  but  at  that 
critical  moment  some  one  with  a kind  heart 
spoke  an  encouraging  word  to  him,  and  that 
word  resulted  in  his  rescue.  Gough  had  been 
kindly  asked  to  sign  the  pledge.  Now  note 
Gough’s  own  words:  “I  went  on  my  way,  much 

touched  by  the  kind  interest  which  at  last  some 
one  had  taken  in  my  welfare.  I said  to  myself, 
‘If  it  shall  be  the  last  act  of  my  life,  I will 
perform  my  promise  and  sign  it,  even  though  I 
die  in  the  attempt;  for  that  man  has  placed  con- 
fidence in  me,  and  on  that  account  I love  him.’” 
And  so  Gough  signed  the  pledge,  and  kept  it;  and 
for  over  forty  years  he  traveled  the  earth  and  spent 
his  life  in  rescuing  the  unfortunate  drunkard. 
He  was  never  so  eloquent  as  when  he  was  speak- 
ing upon  the  theme  of  temperance;  and  the  last 
words  he  ever  uttered  (from  a lecture  platform  in 
Philadelphia)  were  in  pleading  with  men,  and 
especially  young  men,  never  to  drink.  That  night 
he  pleaded  like  one  speaking  from  the  border 
of  eternity,  and  as  he  spoke  this  sentence:  “Young 


SAVE  THE  BOYS 


107 


man,  keep  your  record  clean,”  he  fell  to  the  plat- 
form unconscious,  and  soon  afterward  died.  0 
boys  with  lives  innocent,  pure,  and  happy!  0 
young  men  with  powers  and  passions  and  a 
precious  future!  0 husbands  with  wife  and  chil- 
dren to  protect!  0 fathers  with  sons  and  daugh- 
ters who  look  to  you  for  an  example! — “keep 
your  record  clean”  from  the  evils  of  intemper- 
ance— intemperance  in  all  its  various  forms;  and 
remember,  oh,  remember,  that  it  is  better  to 
prevent  the  youth  from  acquiring  an  appetite  and 
passion  for  drink  than  to  cure  them  after  the 
drinking  habit  is  once  formed! 


CHAPTER  VIII 
SAVE  THE  GIRLS 

Very  often  do  we  hear  the  plea,  “Save  the 
boys”;  but  it  is  very  seldom  that  we  hear  the 
plea,  “Save  the  girls.”  Why  is  this  difference?  It 
is  because  we  commonly  hold  too  extreme  notions 
concerning  girls.  It  is  thought  to  be  a waste  of 
time  to  talk  about  saving  a good,  pure,  virtuous 
girl,  because  she  is  considered  to  be  so  good  as 
not  to  be  in  danger;  and  it  is  likewise  thought  to 
be  a waste  of  time  to  bother  about  saving  a bad, 
impure,  fallen  girl,  because  as  a fallen  girl  she  is 
deemed  too  had  to  be  saved.  I know  this  is  a 
strong  way  of  stating  the  question;  but  refer  to 
the  common  practice  of  mankind,  and  see  if  it  is 
not  too  true.  Of  a good  woman,  who  is  pure, 
virtuous,  and  true,  we  make  an  angel;  of  a bad 
woman,  though  she  may  be  unfortunate,  we 
make  a fallen  angel,  and  count  her  out  as  irrep- 
arably lost.  It  is  time  that  we  learn  that  there 
are  demands  made  upon  us  for  righteousness’  sake 
that  we  should  not  ignore  on  the  ground  of  preju- 
dice. A large  per  cent,  of  fallen  girls  have  had 
their  ruin  plotted  by 


108 


SAVE  THE  GIRLS 


109 


BLACK-HEARTED  VILLAINS, 

who  wear  nice  clothes,  and  hold  high  positions, 
and  who  are  petted  in  society,  even  though  their 
lives  are  commonly  known  to  be  impure.  Shame 
on  any  social  circle,  however  high  may  be  their 
pretentions,  if  they  tolerate  two  standards, — one 
for  men  and  another  for  women.  Such  standards, 
whenever  found  in  civilization,  tend  to  lower  the 
standard  of  virtue.  Thanks  to'  the  noble  woman- 
hood of  America  that  these  antiquated  notions  of 
heathenism  are  rapidly  being  supplanted  by  a 
higher  moral  tone  that  is  fast  leavening  society 
for  the  betterment  of  mankind.  In  woman  love 
and  affection  is  more  of  a predominating  influence 
than  in  man;  and  I am  not  certain  but  what  the 
intensity  of  love  and  hate  are  also  stronger.  We 
like  or  dislike,  and  to  us  things  are  pleasant  or 
unpleasant,  agreeable  or  disagreeable.  It  is  writ- 
ten, 

“love  is  strong  as  death”; 

and  also  that  “jealousy  is  as  cruel  as  the  grave.” 
Try  as  we  may  to  avoid  it,  yet  by  these  mighty 
impulses  of  the  soul  are  our  tempestuous  lives 
governed.  While  love  controls  the  heart,  all  is 
peaceful  and  calm;  but  if  hate  is  cherished  in  the 
heart,  the  whole  nature  is  in  a storm.  It  is  an 


110 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


unchangeable  law  of  our  being  that  there  are 
some  things  we  cannot  learn  to  love;  and  likewise 
there  are  some  things  we  cannot  learn  to  hate. 
These  laws  of  attraction  and  repulsion  pervade 
the  whole  realm  of  nature.  When  either  of  these 
two  elements  of  our  nature  is  aroused,  then  it  is 
necessary  for  safety  to  call  reason  to  supremacy 
of  control.  Love!  What  is  love?  It  is  that 
mighty  passion  of  the  soul  that  sways  the  whole 
nature  of  man.  What  is  love?  In  its  essence 
pure  and  simple  it  is  divine;  but  in  man’s  nature 
it  is  a passion,  and,  to  prevent  serious  consequences 
from  its  abuse,  love  must  be  subject  to  the  higher 
dictate  of  pure  reason.  Love  in  subjection  to 
reason  is  a virtue  of  priceless  value.  Where  this 
virtue  is  rightly  cultivated  and  controlled  there  is 
the  least  danger  of  shipwreck  in  life.  The  soul 
that  is  surrounded  by  love  has  a fortress  that  is 
proof  against  the  severest  attacks  of  sin.  Where 
true  love  dwells  the  first  impulse  of  the  soul  is  to 

SHUN  THE  VERY  APPEARANCE  OF  EVIL. 

She  who  is  strong  here  and  has  a high  moral 
sense  of  right  is  capable  of  the  greatest  good.  In 
girlhood  love  and  hate  are  stronger  than  at  any 
other  age  in  life.  Look  upon  a young  woman 
when  the  heart  is  moved  by  these  mighty  impulses 


SAVE  THE  GIRLS 


111 


of  the  soul.  See  the  whole  being  stormed  by 
passions,  the  power  of  which  she  had  never 
known  before.  See  love  and  hate  struggle  for 
mastery.  What  a wonderful  scene!  To  conquer 
for  the  right  is  a more  brilliant  achievement  of 
true  courage  than  the  victory  of  Wellington  at 
Waterloo.  The  conflict  wages.  It  is  hard  for 
the  will  to  exalt  reason  to  supremacy  of  control. 
It  is  hard  to  subdue  hate  to  love  and  to  forgive 
and  forget.  At  last  the  storm  is  over.  After  the 
storm  is  a calm,  and  the  soul,  tendered  by  love, 
thus  gives  expression: 

“Let  by-gones  be  by-gones; 

Your  heart  will  be  lighter 
When  kindness  of  yours 
With  reception  is  met. 

The  flame  of  your  heart 
Will  be  purer  and  brighter 
If,  Godlike,  you  strive 
To  forgive  and  forget.” 

Though  love  should  ever  predominate  over  the 
other  elements  of  our  nature,  yet  there  are  some 
things  which  we  cannot  learn  to  love;  and  if  they 
are  evil,  then  do  not  try  to  love  them,  but  if  they 
are  good,  then  do  not  allow  yourself  to  hate.  If 
what  your  nature  rejects  with  a dislike  is  really 
good,  and  good  for  you  to  possess,  in  due  time  it 
will  find  its  way  to  your  heart  by 


112 


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THE  TRUSTY  ROAD  OF  REASON. 

It  is  not  necessary  nor  always  best  to  banish  our 
dislikes,  and  while  hate  should  not  be  cherished, 
yet,  remaining,  it  may  serve  a wise  purpose.  A 
certain  father  became  very  much  irritated  because 
his  daughter  did  not  fall  in  love  with  a certain 
fellow  to  whom  he  himself  had  taken  a great 
fancy,  and  he  thus  admonished  his  daughter: 
“Mary!  Mary!  You  must  not  hate  Sam!”  To 
which  the  daughter  replied, 

“Father,  it  isn’t  Sam  that  I hate;  it  is  his  tarnal 
actions.” 

Now  there  are  some  things  and  people  we  can- 
not learn  to  love;  neither  should  we  hate  them. 
While,  again,  it  may  be  right  to  hate.  It  is  right 
to  hate  what  is  wrong.  Hate  falsehood!  Hate 
bad  habits ! Hate  wickedness  of  every  kind ! For 

“Vice  is  a monster  of  so  frightful  mien 
As,  to  be  hated,  needs  but  to  be  seen; 

Yet  seen  too  oft,  familiar  with  her  face, 

We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace.” 

Hate  vice!  Hate  evil!  And,  Godlike,  hate 
sin!  You  are  all  familiar  with  the  disgraceful 
downfall  of  Charles  Stewart  Parnell,  of  Ireland, 
and  Col.  W.  C.  P.  Breckenridge,  of  Kentucky, 
and  how  they  thought  within  themselves  to 
disregard  the  sacred  obligations  of  the  home  and 


SAVE  THE  GIRLS 


113 


the  holy  laws  of  chastity.  But  Ireland’s  and 
America’s  love  of  virtue  was  too  strong  for  them, 
and  under  the  powerful  ban  of  irresistible  public 
opinion  they  went  down  as  if  a millstone  were 
hanging  about  their  necks,  and  as  they  wont 
down  they  dragged  with  them  the  proud  pride 
and  hope  of  their  admiring  followers. 

Of  all  the  periods  in  life,  the  most  charming 
and  the  most  important  is  when  young  manhood 
and  young  womanhood  are  being  established. 
During  this  period  character  is  formed.  Here  is 
made  the  choice  of  destiny;  and  whatever  else 
you  gain  or  lose,  be  sure,  be  sure  of  character. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1892,  the  great  Interna- 
tional Christian  Endeavor  Convention  was  held 
in  New  York  City.  Old,  conservative  New  York 
City,  with  its  famous  conventions  in  the  past, 
never  before  saw  such  a tidal  wave  of  religious 
enthusiasm.  Being  the  Illinois  representative 
in  the 

TEMPERANCE  CONFERENCE 

of  that  convention,  I not  only  studied  what  was 
said  and  done  there,  but  I also  spent  several  days 
and  nights  in  studying  the  practical  side  of  the 
question  in  the  darkest  parts  of  the  city.  Darkest 
Chicago  was  familiar  to  me,  and  I proposed  to 


114 


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know  something  of  darkest  New  York,  about 
which  so  much  has  been  said  and  still  the  half  is 
not  told.  Calling  at  the  headquarters  of  the 
Salvation  Army,  I had  a most  profitable  inter- 
view with  Commander  Ballington  Booth.  He 
furnished  me  a bright  young  Salvation  Army 
soldier  for  a guide.  Of  course,  their  principal 
“barracks”  and  “shelters”  were  visited,  and  their 
great  work  in  the  slums,  rescuing  the  fallen  of 
both  men  and  women,  was  fully  explained,  and 
proof  of  their  mission  of  rescue  was  made  plain 
by  the  actual  work  of  self-sacrifice  which  is  car- 
ried on  by  their  heroic  soldiers.  Then  and  there 
I thanked  God  for  the  work  of  the  Salvation 
Army  in 

THE  TEMPERANCE  CAUSE. 

Then  and  there  I breathed  a prayer  that  an  army 
of  workers  might  be  enlisted  from  all  the  churches, 
the  world  over,  to  rescue  mankind  from  the  curse 
of  the  drink  plague.  For  many  days  and  nights 
I studied  darkest  New  York  to  find  out  the  solu- 
tion to  the  problem  of  the  wretchedness  and  woe 
that  exist  there  in  the  deepest-dyed  sins  of 
humanity. 

Major  Emma  J.  Brown,  of  the  Salvation  Army, 
has  devoted  her  life  to  work  in  the  slums  to  res- 


SAVE  THE  GIRLS 


115 


cue  fallen  women.  I quote  from  a recent  inter- 
view, which  is  substantially  the  same  as  her 
account  to  me: 

“We  go  to  the  houses  and  talk  kindly  and 
reason  earnestly  with  the  girls  and  women 
whom  we  find  in  such  places;  where  they  seem  to 
care,  are  interested  or  affected,  we  leave  our  ad- 
dress, and  in  a week  or  ten  days  try  to  see  them 
again.  Some  are  found  who  abhor  the  life  they 
are  living  and  long  to  get  away  from  it,  but  see 
no  avenue  open  for  an  honest  and  better  life.  To 
such,  when  we  find  them  sincere,  we  offer  the  ref- 
uge of  our  home,  where  they  can  stay  until  we 
are  satisfied  they  have  broken  away  from  the 
past;  then  we  secure  for  them  employment. 
Under  the  constant  influence  of  Christian  women 
many  are  converted,  and  it  is  then,  and  only  then, 
they  are  safe;  for  it  is  the  love  of  God  alone  that 

SAVES  THE  FALLEN  SISTER. 

“We  do  not  look  upon  an  erring  woman  as  the 
public  is  so  apt  to  do.  There  are  thousands  of 
good  women  who,  when  they  see  one  of  the  fallen 
with  a black  eye,  perhaps,  and  oaths  upon  her 
lips,  turn  away  with  disgust.  Not  so  with  me.  I 
know  there  is  another  side  that  is  not  all  black. 
There  is  a heart  that  must  be  found ; there  is  a 


116 


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soul  that  must  be  saved.  And  sometimes  I weep 
tears  of  joy  at  the  words  and  looks  of  deepest 
gratitude  from  one  whose  sin-cursed  life  has  been 
swept  aside,  and  who  is  filled  with  hope  and 
happiness,  all  through  a few  simple  words  of 
kindness  and  the  finger  that  points  to  the  cross. 
I met  a girl  one  time  who  had  sold  her  last  ring 

TO  SECURE  THE  NECESSARIES  OF  LIFE. 

She  had  no  friends  to  whom  to  turn,  and  seemed 
unable  to  secure  employment.  She  was  strug- 
gling with  the  alternative  of  starvation  or  dis- 
grace, and  was  considering,  when  I met  her,  a 
proposition  that  had  come  that  very  hour  from  a 
man  who  proffered  assistance  upon  certain  condi- 
tions. One  word  of  kindness,  the  hand  grasp  of 
friendship,  and  she  broke  into  a flood  of  tears. 
She  went  to  our  home  until  we  found  her  em- 
ployment, and  one  of  the  delights  of  my  life  is  a 
letter  from  her  upon  every  anniversary,  filled 
with  gratitude  and  joy.” 

This  is  truly  the  kind  of  work  that  tells. 
One  night  I visited  the  midnight  service  at 
“Florence  Mission.”  This  Mission  is  located  at 
29  Bleecker  Street,  and  is  often  run  all  night. 
With  the  class  of  outcasts  with  which  this  Mission 
deals,  night  is  turned  into  day.  During  the  day 


SAVE  THE  GIRLS 


117 


the  usual  business  is  carried  on  in  store  and 
market,  but  when  night  comes  the  streets  are 
thronged  with  a criminal  class,  who  come  out 
from  their  hiding-places  to  prey  upon  the  inno- 
cent and  ignorant,  for  they  live  by  vice  and  all 
forms  of  wickedness.  Our  trip  was  through  the 
wickedest  section  of  the  city.  My  guide  said  to 
me,  as  we  reached  this  sin-cursed  spot  of  New 
York:  “It  is  well  for  me  to  speak  a word  of 
warning  here.  Though,  in  my  Army  rescue 
work,  I often  go  through  this  street  at  midnight 
on  a mission  of  duty,  yet  I never  do  so  without  a 
sense  of  danger,  for  thefts,  murders,  and  the 
vilest  crimes  occur  here  almost  every  night.”  I 
am  no  coward,  nor  am  I a stranger  to  work  in 
the  slums  of  a great  city;  but  my  heart  bounded 
into  my  throat  more  than  once  that  night.  Never 
shall  I forget  a thrilling  shriek  that  came  from 
an  old  livery  barn  in  a dark  alley  as  we  passed 
by,  and  the  shrill  voice  of  some  one  in  great 
agony  crying  for  help;  and  the  sound  of  throw- 
ing missiles  and  stones,  and  the  cursing  and 
swearing  of  the  participants,  made  it  indeed 
frightful.  A manly-looking  policeman  advanced 
cautiously  toward  the  scene  of  trouble.  Said  my 
guide,  “That  man  is  a brave  officer,  but  he 
knows  that  he  is  taking  his  life  in  his  hands 


118 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


in  going  into  that  crowd.”  It  was  “Robbers’ 
Roost,”  and  no  wonder  that  he  should  tremble 
for  his  life.  Oh,  such  language  as  fell  upon  our 
ears!  such  hard  faces  as  met  our  gaze!  such  a 
hell  as  those  brutes  in  human  form  were  carrying 
in  their  breasts!  Then  I remembered  that  it  was 
for  such  that  Christ  had  died,  and  for  such 

I MUST  WORK  TO  RESCUE. 

And  then  I remembered  that  just  such  fallen  hu- 
manity as  these,  when  redeemed,  would  live  with 
God  and  the  angels;  and  there  to  rescue  them  I 
was  sent  with  the  message  of  salvation.  Remem- 
bering this,  my  heart  was  tendered.  The  sign  of 
“Florence  Mission”  (illuminated)  flashed  out  like 
a ray  of  hope  in  a dark  place;  the  old  familiar 
gospel  hymns  were  being  sung;  the  large  room  was 
crowded  with  men  and  women, — hard-faced  and 
hard-hearted.  The  old  gospel  was  proclaimed  with 
the  old-time  power,  and  then  came  opportunities 
for  testimonies  and  confessions.  Several  hard-faced 
men  and  women  one  after  another  arose  to  speak; 
then  I saw  that  they  were  not  all  brutes  in  human 
form,  but  that  some  of  them  were  my  brothers  and 
sisters  in  Christ,  once  fallen,  now  saved,  and  that 
others  were  seeking  to  return  to  our  Heavenly 
Father,  as  did  the  prodigal  son. 


SAVE  THE  GIRLS 


119 


FLORENCE  MISSION 

was  established  to  rescue  fallen  girls;  and  it 
was  so  named  in  honor  of  Florence  Crittenton, 
who  died  when  she  was  only  four  years  old;  and 
her  father,  a successful  business  man  of  New 
York,  to  perpetuate  her  memory  established  this 
Mission.  Florence  Mission  also  has  a home  of 
refuge  for  girls  who  sincerely  desire  to  reform. 
But  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  fix  an  age 
limit,  because  this  home  for  fallen  girls  is  always 
crowded  to  its  fullest  capacity,  there  not  being 
room  for  all  who  apply.  That  night  a woman 
came  in  who  looked  indeed  wretched.  She  had 
been  drinking,  yet  she  seemed  to  know  what  she 
was  doing.  She  appeared  to  be  serious  and  in 
earnest.  At  the  close  of  the  regular  services  she 
remained  for  the  after  meeting  in  the  inquiry 
room,  and  in  apparent  humility  she  asked  for 
prayers.  She  wept  bitterly  and  lamented  her 
wayward  life.  She  said  she  had  never  been  to  the 
Mission  before,  and  that  she  had  come  resolved  to 
lead  a better  life ; and  then  she  asked  to  be  admitted 
to  the  Home  for  Girls.  She  was  asked  her  age. 
Then  I heard  the  superintendent  say,  “We  are 
glad  to  do  all  we  can  for  you  in  the  Mission,  but 
you  are  too  old  to  take  into  the  Home  for  Girls.” 
She  stood  in  solemn  silence  for  a moment.  Then 


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tears  streamed  down  her  cheeks.  It  was  a sight 
to  cause  an  angel  to  weep.  When  the  deep  emo- 
tion had  subsided  she  turned  and  walked  slowly 
away,  and  I heard  her  say  as  she  passed  out  of 
the  door:  “I’m  too  old;  I ’m  lost!  I ’m  too  old; 
I ’m  lost ! ” I shall  never  forget  that  night  and 
those  words  of  despair, — “I’m  too  old;  I’m  lost! 
I ’m  too  old ; I ’m  lost.” 

It  is  not  because  they  are  so  bad  at  heart  that 
so  many  girls  fall,  but  frequently  it  is  because 
of  adverse  circumstances.  You  do  not  know 
what  you  would  have  been  had  unfavorable  cir- 
cumstances been  your  lot,  such  as  have  surrounded 
some  of  these  girls.  Of  course  you  now  think 
that  had  you  been  in  her  place  you  would  have 
been  strong  enough  to  stand,  and  strong  enough 
to  withstand  such  an  evil  under  all  circumstances. 
But  ponder  this  thought  in  your  mind,  and  see 
if  you  do  not  have  more  pity  for  the  unfortunates. 

All  great  cities  have  their  poor,  ignorant,  and 

VICTIMS  OF  ILL  FORTUNE. 

There  are  also  criminals,  crooks,  gamblers,  saloon- 
keepers, and  scarlet  women ; but  even  among  those 
who  are  included  in  this  class  there  are  excep- 
tions. There  are  unfortunates  who  do  not  follow 
their  wayward  lives  from  choice.  Knowing  this, 


SAVE  THE  GIRLS 


121 


missions  are  planted  in  the  midst  of  these  dark 
spots  in  our  great  cities.  Then  good,  true-hearted 
workers  are  sent  there  as  missionaries  on  errands 
of  mercy.  There  in  the  darkness  they  hold  up 
Jesus,  the  “Light  of  the  world,”  as  the  Saviour, 
especially  for  lost  men  and  fallen  women. 

The  first  thing  that  must  be  done  to  help  these 
unfortunates  is  to  get  them  to  look  above  them- 
selves, and  to  inspire  them  with  a desire  to  do 
better;  and,  of  all  things  employed,  there  has 
never  been  any  elevating  influence  like  unto  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  to  stimulate  the  desire  in 
the  heart  to  live  a better  life.  It  pays  to  support 
missions  in  the  dark  spots  of  great  cities;  it  gives 
the  neglected  a chance  to  start  a better  life  in  heart, 
which  will  develop  into  a better  outward  life;  it 
serves  as  a means  of  reform  to  find  out  those  who 
really  at  heart  want  to  lead  a better  life,  and  gives 

THE  WILLING  WORKERS 

an  opportunity  to  wisely  bestow  their  work  where 
it  will  do  the  most  good.  Think  kindly  of  these 
missions  and  homes,  for  none  of  them  ever  turn 
away  repentant  souls  because  they  do  not  care 
for  them;  if  any  are  turned  away,  it  is  because 
they  cannot  care  for  them.  There  are  not  enough 
homes  yet  provided  for  all  the  unfortunates  that 


122 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


apply;  hence  the  rescue  of  the  young  girls  is  em- 
phasized, because  there  is  more  hope  of  their  per- 
manent reformation. 

The  admonition  of  this  incident  is  a warning 
to  all  who  continue  in  sin.  It  is  a terrible  thing 
to  procrastinate,  to  trifle  with  destiny,  to  grow  old 
in  sin.  I took  opportunity  to  inquire  of  this 
fallen  woman  what  caused  her  first  step  down- 
ward. In  childhood  she  was  as  pure  as  any 
other  child.  In  girlhood  she  was  happy  and 
hopeful.  But  the  custom  of  drinking  prevails  in 
many  families,  especially  in  our  great  cities,  among 
women  and  children  as  well  as  men.  She  had 
learned  to  drink  in  common  with  others.  In  the 
giddy  rounds  of  pleasure  she  drank  without 
thought  of  harm.  But  drink  always  blunts  the 
moral  sensibilities  and  steals  away  the  victim’s 
brains.  And  as  she  told  her  story,  between  her  sobs 
and  tears,  over  and  over  again  she  repeated  this 
sentence,  “ It  was  drink  that  led  to  my  fall.”  Then 
drink  in  the  giddy  whirlpool  of  vice  dulled  her 
moral  sensibilities  more  and  more,  and  in  time 
she  drifted  on  to  deeper  ruin.  Oh,  save  the 
girls!  Those  words  are  true — too  true.  For 
there  are  many  to-day  who  send  up  this  same 
painful  cry  of  despair:  “I’m  too  old;  I’m  lost! 
I ’m  too  old ; I ’m  lost ! ” 


CHAPTER  IX 

SAVE  THE  YOUNG  MEN 

Daniel  Webster,  whose  words  were  silvery  and 
whose  thoughts  were  golden,  never  uttered  a more 
eloquent  passage  than  this:  “If  we  work  upon 
marble,  it  will  perish;  if  we  work  upon  brass, 
time  will  efface  it;  if  we  rear  temples,  they  will 
crumble  into  dust;  but  if  we  work  upon  immor- 
tal minds — if  we  imbue  them  with  principles, 
with  the  just  fear  of  God  and  love  of  our  fellow- 
men,  we  engrave  on  those  tablets  something  that 
will  brighten  to  all  eternity.” 

Until  a boy  is  about  fifteen  years  old  he  is  a 
boy;  but  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  twenty- 
five  he  is  “Young  America.”  Tell  me  how  a young 
man  has  spent  these  ten  years  of  his  life,  and  I 
will  tell  you,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  how  his  life 
will  end.  This  is  the  formation  period  in  life; 
here  is  the  age  of  promise;  here  life  is  seen  in  all 
its  beauty  of  attraction,  and  the  glare  and  glitter 
of  the  world  make  things  look  richer  than  they 
really  are.  Some  have  been  so  charmed  by 

THIS  HAPPY  PERIOD  IN  LIFE 

that  they  weep  at  the  thought  of  ever  growing 
123 


124 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


old;  and  I love  to  hear  old  people  tell  about  their 
young  lives,  which  were  as  happy  as  the  brightest 
dream.  But  hear  me,  young  friends,  while  J speak 
these  earnest  words:  Do  not  let  the  glare  and  glit- 
ter of  the  world  deceive  you ! Heed  these  timely 
words  of  him  who  said,  “Rejoice,  0 young  man, 
in  thy  youth,  and  let  thy  heart  cheer  thee  in  the 
days  of  thy  youth,  and  walk  in  the  ways  of  thine 
heart,  and  in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes:  but  know 
thou,  that  for  all  these  things  God  will  bring  thee 
into  judgment”;  therefore,  be  cheerful  and  be  wise, 
for  much  of  your  life  is  in  your  own  hands.  Then 
again,  do  not  cherish  discontent,  butTearn  to  appre- 
ciate what  you  have;  stop  once  in  a while  and  count 
over  your  treasures.  Have  you  a good  home? 
Have  you  good  health,  a good  brain,  a good  heart, 
a good  name?  Have  you  all  of  these,  to  say  noth- 
ing about  your  many  other  treasures  ? Then  you 
ought  to  be  happy.  Be  pure!  Be  good!  Be  happy! 

But  there  is  one  more  treasure  of  which  I wish 
to  speak,  and  that  is 

A GOOD  MOTHER. 

I have  been  a boy,  and  I tried  to  be  a good  boy, 
and  I am  now  a father,  and  I try  to  be  a good 
father  to  my  boys ; but  I can  say  this,  that  there 
is  no  one  who  can  take  the  place  of  a good  mother. 


SAVE  THE  YOUNG  MEN 


125 


Young  man,  your  mother  is  your  best  earthly 
friend.  She  has  her  failings, ’ t is  true,  and  one  of 
her  failings  is  that  she  has  often  been  too  good  and 
too  kind  to  you.  Young  man,  be  kind  to  your 
mother,  and  then  there  will  be  no  cause  for  regret 
when  she  is  gone;  for  while  on  earth  she  is  your 
guardian  angel.  Wendell  Phillips  related  this, 
a true  story  of  an  old  sea  captain: 

“WHEN  I WAS  YOUNG, 

I was  crazy  to  go  to  sea.  At  last  my  mother  con- 
sented that  I should  seek  my  fortune.  ‘My  boy,’ 
said  she,  ‘ I don’t  know  anything  about  towns, 
and  I never  saw  the  sea,  but  they  tell  me  they 
make  thousands  of  drunkards.  Now  promise  me 
you  will  never  drink  a drop  of  liquor.’  He  said: 
‘ I laid  my  hand  in  hers,  and  promised,  as  I looked 
into  her  face  for  the  last  time ; for  soon  after  she 
died.  I have  been  on  every  sea  and  have  seen 
the  worst  kind  of  life  and  men.  They  laughed  at 
me  and  called  me  a milksop,  and  wanted  to  know 
if  I was  a coward.  But  when  they  offered  me 
liquor  I saw  my  mother’s  pleading  face,  and  I 
never  drank  a drop.” 

Young  man,  when  you  go  out  from  a good 
home,  remember  the  good  advice  of  your  mother. 
But, 


126 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


WHO  IS  THIS  “YOUNG  AMERICA,” 

about  whom  we  hear  so  much?  He  is  not  a 
newcomer;  he  has  been  here  for  a long  time,  and 
is  here  to  stay.  We  heard  of  him  away  back 
there  at  the  cradle  of  liberty,  when  this  proud 
nation  was  born.  Then  he  tied  his  boat  to 
a stump  on  the  shore  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
ever  since  he  has  pushed,  like  a steam-engine, 
through  every  difficulty,  crossed  every  river, 
explored  every  forest,  and  climbed  every  moun- 
tain; and  now  he  breathes  zephyr  breezes  on 
the  shore  of  the  Pacific.  Because  of  his  courage, 
zeal,  and  perseverance  we  call  him  “Young 
America.”  It  is  his  young  blood  and  vigorous 
life  that  makes  him  the  power  that  he  is, — a 
power  turned  to  good  which  is  inestimable.  I 
wish  to  be  understood  here.  There  is  a com- 
mon use  made  of  this  term  which  is  widely  dif- 
ferent in  meaning  from  the  one  I have  in  mind. 
By  “Young  America”  I mean  the  young  man 
clothed  with  all  his  power  and  vigor  of  life. 
Though  this  “Young  America”  makes  more 
mistakes,  deserves  more  rebukes,  and  needs  more 
good,  fatherly  advice  than  at  any  other  period 
of  his  life,  yet  he  wakes  up  more  sleepy  drones, 
inspires  more  enthusiasm,  and  sets  more  men  to 
thinking  than  any  other  class,  and  under  a free 


SAVE  THE  YOUNG  MEN 


127 


government  he  is  the  life  of  the  age  in  which  he 
lives. 

But  there  is  another  species  of  humanity.  I 
don’t  know  just  what  to  name  it,  but  it  goes  by 
the  name  of 

“dude.” 

Now  this  creature  called  a “dude”  always  dis- 
plays a certain  mental  embellishment  which  is 
styled  “cul-cha.”  You  have  often  heard  it  — 
“ cul-cha  ” — with  all  of  the  Bostonian  accent.  This 
is  a description  of  the  creature  which  I saw.  I 
have  not  forgotten  the  sight,  and  I never  shall. 
It  was  in  a distant  village  some  years  ago.  Stroll- 
ing along  the  street  he  went.  The  neighbor’s 
children  ran  out  to  see  him  as  he  passed.  His 
pantaloons  were  made  on  the  tight  order,  his 
shoes  had  a very  great  protuberance  extending 
outward  from  the  toes,  and  his  coat  was  cut  to 
suit  his  occupation.  On  his  snow-white  hands 
were  delicate  kids,  and  the  scattered  hairs  on  his 
upper  lip  were  periodically  stroked  for  a mustache. 
In  one  hand  he  sported  a cane,  and  in  the  other 
he  carried  a Chinese  parasol;  and  as  he  walked, 
night  or  day,  he  looked  for  stars.  That  spring  he 
had  gone  to  college.  He  had  entered  a tender 
bud,  and  at  the  close  of  the  term  he  came  out  in 
full  bloom,  and  henceforth  he  would  have  people 


128 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


to  know  that  he  was  a gent  of  “ cul-cha.”  Up 
the  street  he  walked  with  stately  tread,  with  his 
eyes  toward  the  stars.  At  a street-crossing  he 
met  a careless  urchin’s  wheelbarrow,  and  then 
he  suddenly  saw  a whole  cluster  of  stars.  After 
this  vision  of  stars  he  arose  from  a very  humble 
position  and  used  the  protuberance  of  his  shoe 
to  correct  the  unfeeling  wheelbarrow.  At  the 
same  time  he  applied  to  the  stupid  concern  a 
new  series  of  names.  The  words  used  were 
neither  scientific  nor  classical,  but  they  seemed 
to  be  a special  vocabulary  extemporized  for 
the  occasion.  Now  I think  you  will  all  agree 
with  me  that  this  creature  was  a “dude.”  But 
there  is  one  thing  I omitted  to  say:  he  also  had  a 
cigarette  in  his  mouth.  Now  the  Lord  may  have 
made  a “dude”  for  a cigarette,  but  it  does  seem 
to  me  that  if  the  Lord  had  intended  it  for  a 
man  he  would  have  made  a little  chimney  up 
through  the  top  of  his  head. 

John  B.  Gough  told  this  story  of  a man  who 
undertook  to  give  up 

THE  HABIT  OF  CHEWING  TOBACCO: 

At  first  he  threw  his  tobacco  away,  saying  as  he 
did  so,  “ That ’s  the  end  of  it.”  But  it  wasn’t. 
Oh  ! how  badly  he  wanted  it.  After  suffering  a tor- 


SAVE  THE  YOUNG  MEN 


129 


turing  craving  for  it  for  thirty-six  or  forty-eight 
hours  he  said  : “Well,  there  is  no  use,  I must  go 

and  get  some  tobacco.  And  when  I want  some 
awfully  I will  take  some.”  Well,  he  did  want 
it  awfully,  and  he  said  he  believed  that  it  was 
God’s  good  Spirit  that  was  striving  with  him,  as  he 
held  the  tobacco  in  his  hand.  Looking  at  it  he 
said : “ I love  you,  but  are  you  my  master,  or 

am  I yours?  You  are  a weed  and  I am  a man. 
You  are  a thing  and  I am  a man.  I’ll  master 
you  if  I die  for  it.”  And  he  did  master  it.  So 
can  you,  young  man,  master  any  useless  habit,  for 
God  has  made  you  a man.  It  may  be  that  some 
habit  has  now  made  you  its  slave,  and  that  you 
are  at  its  mercy.  But  remember  that  God  helps 
him  who  helps  himself.  Remember  that  God 
has  helped  many  other  young  men,  and  if  you 
will  seek  his  help  in  the  time  of  your  need  he  will 
help  you. 

There  is  something  enchanting  in  the  story  of 
Jacob’s 

FIRST  NIGHT  AWAY  FROM  HOME. 

As  night  came  on  he  was  weary  from  his  long 
journey, — a stranger  in  a strange  land, — and  he 
lay  down  to  refresh  himself  in  sleep  with  only  the 
sky  for  a covering  and  a stone  for  a pillow;  but, 

9 


130 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


as  he  slept,  the  eye  of  God  looked  down  upon 
him;  God  knew  that  with  all  his  faults  he  had 
the  elements  of  a great  man,  and  he  chose  to  tell 
him  so.  That  night  God  visited  Jacob  in  a dream. 
Let  me  say  right  here,  that  I pity  the  young  man 
who  has  never  had  a dream  of  the  wonderful 
possibilities  of  a rightly  directed  life.  And  Jacob 
dreamed,  “and  behold  a ladder  set  up  on  the 
earth,  and  the  top  of  it  reached  to  heaven:  and 
behold  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descend- 
ing on  it.”  But  there  was  something  grander 
still  than  the  sight  of  those  ministering  angels; 
that  of  itself  was  enough  to  fill  any  young  man’s 
soul  with  high  and  noble  hopes,  but  the  young 
man  Jacob  saw  on  up  to  the  throne  of  God,  and 
he  heard  a voice  from  heaven,  saying,  “ I am  the 
Lord  God  of  Abraham  thy  father,  and  the  God 
of  Isaac:  ....  behold,  I am  with  thee,  and 
will  keep  thee  in  all  places  whither  thou  goest, 
and  will  bring  thee  again  into  this  land;  for  I 
will  not  leave  thee,  until  I have  done  that  which 
I have  spoken  to  thee  of.” 

Inspiring  though  a vision  may  be,  yet  grander 
still  is  the  divine  assurance  within,  that  God  will 
protect  and  guide  through  the  perilous  journey 
of  life.  Young  man,  if  you  would  be  happy  and 
successful  in  life,  take  Jesus  into  partnership  with 


SAVE  THE  YOUNG  MEN 


131 


you.  If  you  have  formed  a bad  habit,  he  will 
help  you  to  break  it;  if  you  have  temptations,  he 
will  help  you  to  overcome  them;  if  you  lack  hap- 
piness in  your  heart,  remember  that  in  him  is  the 
fullness  of  joy  that  can  be  found  nowhere  else. 

Young  man, 

YOU  WISH  TO  SUCCEED. 

Then  upon  something  as  a sure  foundation  you 
must  build.  Let  character  be  that  foundation, 
conscience  your  guide,  and  truth  your  aim,  and 
you  will  be  happy,  and  happiness  is  success.  “Suc- 
cess” is  a word  which  to  every  one  has  a charm. 
True  success  brings  happiness,  and  happiness  is 
success;  but  the  road  to  success  is  by  the  path 
of  toil.  Some  one  has  put  it  this  way:  “Get  the 
working  quality  well  trained”;  that  is,  if  you 
meet  a difficulty  in  your  way  to  success,  work 
through  it,  but  never  run  from  a task  of  duty. 
Men  who  have  achieved  success  are  those  who 
have  set  their  mark  high,  and  then  have  worked 
unceasingly  for  high  achievement. 

4 ‘The  heights  by  great  men  reached  and  kept 
Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight, 

But  they  while  their  companions  slept 
Were  toiling  upward  in  the  night.” 

All  the  places  in  life  worth  having  have  their 
drudgery  and  require  toil,  and  to  a man  of  enter- 


132 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


prise  the  easy  places  are  not  worth  having.  Do  not 
complain  so  much  about  the  little  place  you  now 
occupy.  By  indolence  you  will  shrink  up  until 
you  can  fill  only  one  corner  of  that  little  place ; 
but  by  working,  developing,  and  growing,  that 
little  place  will  soon  be  too  small  to  hold  you  any 
longer. 

LET  OTHERS  SNEER  AT  WORK 

and  frown  upon  labor  if  they  will,  but  you  and  I 
cannot  afford  to.  A French  doctor  once  taunted 
Fleicher,  Bishop  of  Nismes,  who  had  been  a tal- 
low-chandler in  his  youth,  with  the  meanness  of 
his  origin,  to  which  Fleicher  replied,  “ If  you  had 
been  born  in  the  same  condition  that  I was,  you 
would  have  still  been  but  a maker  of  candles.” 
Often  this  question  is  asked : “ At  what  age  in 

life  is  abiding  success  usually  attained?”  My 
judgment  is,  that  abiding  success  is  rarely  attained 
until  after  the  age  of  twenty-five,  and  from  that 
time  till  fifty  is  life’s  great  harvest.  The  founda- 
tion, however,  is  usually  laid  in  early  life,  but  it 
requires  mature  manhood  to  achieve  abiding  suc- 
cess. You  that  are  young 

HOLD  TO  THIS  THOUGHT, 

and  make  it  fast  in  memory.  The  sweet  dreams 
of  childhood,  and  the  charm  of  young  manhood’s 


SAVE  THE  YOUNG  MEN 


133 


golden  years,  furnish  the  background  to  abiding- 
success;  therefore,  I would  have  every  boy  fix  his 
eye  upon  the  goal  of  success  during  the  palmy 
days  of  youth,  for  every  habit  formed  in  youth 
is  a stone  built  into  the  structure  of  character, 
and  the  world  will  sit  in  judgment  upon  the 
effect  of  those  habits  through  all  the  after  life. 

Daniel  Webster  formed  an  early  habit  of  con- 
stantly storing  his  mind  with  rich  treasures  of 
thought.  Once,  after  he  had  told  an  affecting  story 
in  one  of  his  great  speeches,  he  was  asked  where 
he  got  it,  to  which  he  replied,  “ I have  had  that 
story  laid  up  in  my  head  for  fourteen  years,  but 
never  had  a chance  to  use  it  until  to-day.” 

Next  to  the  formation  of  good  habits  is  the 
utility  of  reserved  force;  and  an  important  ele- 
ment in  reserved  force  is 

DECISION  OP  CHARACTER. 

Says  Foster,  “Decision  of  character  is  the  one 
bright,  golden  apple  which  every  young  man 
should  strive  in  the  beginning  to  pluck  from  the 
tree  of  life.”  Cultivate  decision  and  a personality 
of  your  own.  Be  yourself;  use  your  own  brains; 
put  an  estimate  upon  the  treasures  of  your  own 
heart,  but  do  not  be  your  own  model.  Goldsmith 
has  truly  said,  “Men  seldom  improve  when  they 


134 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


have  no  other  models  than  themselves  to  copy 
after.”  Be  yourself,  and  cultivate  decision  and  a 
personality  of  your  own,  but  set  your  ideal  model 
above  yourself  and  strive  to  reach  it,  and  keep 
on  striving  until  success  is  achieved. 

DO  YOU  EXPECT  TO  SUCCEED? 

This  question  I ask  for  your  thoughtful  reflec- 
tion. Do  you  expect  to  succeed  ? Some  one,  in 
a careless  and  indifferent  manner,  answers,  “I 
guess  I will.”  With  such  persons  the  habit 
grows,  and,  when  an  important  decision  is  neces- 
sary to  achieve  success,  still  it  is  a second  nature 
to  guess,  guess,  guess.  When  a boy,  a little 
incident  vividly  impressed  upon  my  mind  the 
end  to  which  this  habit  of  guessing  will  lead. 
I was  sent  to  market  one  day  to  a merchant  who 
was  known  in  the  town  as  a man  of  success.  At 
the  same  time  I entered,  another  customer  called, 
but  just  then  the  merchant  was  very  busy.  The 
customer  had  brought  a nice  roll  of  butter  to 
sell.  Seeing  that  the  merchant  was  very  busy, 
he  said,  “Oh,  I am  not  particular  about  weigh- 
ing the  butter;  we  can  guess  it  off.”  The  mer- 
chant was  an  honest,  but  careful,  business  man, 
and  as  he  looked  his  customer  full  in  the  face  he 
said, 


SAVE  THE  YOUNG  MEN 


135 


“THE  MAN  WHO  GUESSES 

is  up  in  the  poorhouse.” 

Further,  the  man  who  guesses  isn’t  sharp,  and 
I will  prove  it  to  you.  Some  years  ago  the 
“buyers”  had  a great  fashion  of  going  about  the 
country  buying  stock  and  “lumping  it  off,”  as 
they  called  it;  that  is,  guessing  it  off.  Sometimes 
the  buyers  would  throw  out  inducements  to  a 
man  to  “lump.”  For  instance,  a buyer  induced 
one  man  to  “lump  off”  a drove  of  hogs  by  offer- 
ing him  the  privilege  of  “going  to  the  store  and 
picking  out”  for  his  wife  a dress.  Accordingly, 
the  man  sold,  and,  as  might  be  expected,  he  got 
“sold.”  When  the  account  was  figured  up  he 
was  “left”  just  thirteen  dollars.  Then  he  went  to 
the  store  and  picked  out  for  his  wife’s  dress  ten 
yards  of  ten-cent  gingham, — just  an  even  dollar’s 
worth, — and  the  buyer  walked  off,  jingling  the 
remaining  twelve  dollars  in  his  pocket. 

So,  my  friend,  if  you  would  succeed  in  life,  you 
had  better  not  guess,  but  weigh;  and,  in  this  age 
of  tragical  ventures  and  games  of  chance,  I lift 
my  voice  in  warning,  for  guessing  often  leads  to 
tampering  with  lotteries,  and  tampering  with 
lotteries  leads  to  gambling,  and  gambling  is  the 
by-path  to  hell. 


136 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


Again  I ask,  “Do  you  expect  to  succeed?”  and 
I receive  this  answer:  “I  do 

IF  I HAVE  GOOD  LUCK.” 

Good  luck!  Young  man,  let  me  tell  you  some- 
thing. There  is  not  so  much  in  “luck”  as  you 
now  think.  Most  men  who  have  luck  make  it 
themselves.  John  McGovern  wrote  this  jeweled 
sentence  in  his  “Golden  Censer”:  “ Lucky  men  are 
favorites  of  Heaven  simply  because  they  have 
been  endowed  with  that  charming  blindness 
which  keeps  them  from  seeing  that  they  are 
whipped  in  the  battle  of  life.”  Just  pray  for 
that  kind  of  “luck”  and  you  will  succeed.  And 
again  I ask,  “Do  you  expect  to  succeed?”  and  this 
time  the  answer  is,  “Of  course  I do,  for  I am 
going  to  be  a merchant  [or  a doctor,  or  a lawyer, 
or  a preacher,  as  the  case  may  be],  and  that  means 
success.”  Now  let  me  say  to  you  frankly,  that 
there  is  just  the  sand-bar  on  which  many  a little 
hark  has  foundered.  Let  me  give  you  a hint  or 
two  to  keep  you  away  from  the  breakers  and 
help  you  off  the  sand-bar,  if  you  are  on.  The 
first  thing  you  do,  settle  this  question  in  your 
mind: 

“WHAT  AM  I FIT  FOR?” 

Now  don’t  trifle  about  this  matter,  for  there  is 


SAVE  THE  YOUNG  MEN 


137 


no  more  important  question  that  you  will  ever 
meet  in  order  to  insure  success.  Find  out  what 
you  are  “fit  for,”  and  then  stick  to  it.  It  is  said 
of  the  great  painter  Apelles,  that  when  a cobbler 
stopped  before  a finished  portrait  and  criticised  a 
sandal,  he  corrected  it,  but  when,  again,  the  cobbler 
ventured  to  criticise  a leg,  Apelles  told  him  he 
would  do  well  to  keep  to  his  own  trade;  hence  the 
Roman  proverb,  Ne  sutor  ultra  crepidam ; liter- 
ally, “The  shoemaker  should  not  be  above  his 
last,”  but  in  more  liberal  interpretation, 

“every  man  to  his  own  trade.” 

Then  find  out  what  you  are  “ fit  for,”  and  what- 
ever you  are  best  fitted  for  should  be  your  trade. 
But  to  this  general  rule  there  are  some  exceptions. 
One  day  I met  an  old  acquaintance,  and  as  we 
shook  hands  I said,  “Well,  what  have  you  been 
doing  since  I last  saw  you?” 

“Oh,”  said  he,  “I  have  been  following  my  old 
trade.” 

“What  is  that?”  I inquired. 

“Why,  a 1-o-a-f-i-n-g.” 

I told  this  story  in  a lecture  one  evening  in 
Chicago  in  the  presence  of  the  original  loafer, 
and  he  laughed — and  laughed — and  laughed, 
because  he  thought  the  joke  was  on  the  other  fel- 


138 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


low.  Now  in  this  case  I would  advise  a change, 
for  the  very  good  reason  that  the  trade  of 
loafing  is  already  overdone. 

LIFE  AS  A SUCCESS 

may  be  viewed  from  two  different  standpoints. 
We  may  view  man’s  highest  achievements  as 
related  to  this  life  and  this  world,  and  call  it 
success.  The  achievement  of  wealth,  position, 
honor,  fame,  and  the  title  of  greatness,  is  called 
success.  Then  we  may  view  man’s  highest 
achievement  as  related  to  the  future  and  call  it 
success.  The  achievement  of  a good  name,  a 
peaceful  mind,  a clear  conscience,  and  a hope 
of  heaven,  is  called  success.  And  now  in  the 
presence  of  these  two  views  I ask  you  to  decide 
which  is  true  success.  While  we  stand  on  the 
shore  of  time,  our  eyes  become  dazzled  by  the 
glare  and  glitter  of  the  world.  But  when  we 
shall  stand  on  the  shore  of  eternity,  then  our 
vision  will  be  changed. 

It  was  my  privilege  on  the  7 th  of  October, 
1891,  to  witness  the  unveiling  of  Grant’s  monu- 
ment at  Lincoln  Park,  Chicago,  in  the  presence 
of  a quarter  of  a million  spectators.  While 
standing  in  that  presence  this  question  was  sug- 
gested to  my  mind : “ Why  did  the  sculptor  repre- 


SAVE  THE  YOUNG  MEN 


139 


sent  him  in  military  garb  and  posture?”  Then 
I reflected  that  it  was  in  that  sphere  that  he  was 
greatest.  Then  I remembered  how  with  resistless 
courage  he  pressed  his  foes  until  they  were  either 
conquered  or  had  surrendered.  But  we  best  see 

HIS  TRUE  GREATNESS 

in  the  magnanimous  spirit  in  which  he  treated 
his  conquered  foe,  General  Lee,  at  Appomattox; 
and,  as  I looked  at  his  splendid  statue  gazing  out 
over  Lake  Michigan  toward  Appomattox  again,  I 
imagined  his  rigid  lips  repeating  anew  that 
memorable  sentence,  “Let  us  have  peace,”  a sen- 
tence uttered  at  a time  when  our  divided  nation 
so  much  needed  the  healing  balm  of  peace.  But 
Grant,  the  illustrious  American,  is  now  dead,  yet 
his  name,  still  living  in  history,  is  revered  by  mil- 
lions, who  aspire  to  be  like  him  in  greatness.  Let 
us  stand  again  under  the  nation’s  hanging 
drapery  and  review  a few  pages  of  his  personal 
history.  Judged  by  the  achievements  of  his  life — 
his  military  career,  his  eight  years’  presidency  of 
the  greatest  republic  on  earth,  his  tour  around 
the  globe,  w’ith  the  honors  of  the  kingdoms  and 
empires  of  the  world  as  their  estimate  of  his 
greatness,  and,  at  last,  the  tribute  of  honor  from 
his  countrymen  as  they  laid  him  to  rest  in  New 


140  LOST  AND  RESCUED 

York  at  Riverside  Park;  judged,  I say,  by  these 
achievements,  and  from  the  standpoint  of  this 
life  and  this  world,  he  has  no  parallel  in  the  his- 
tory of  our  honored  heroes. 

WAS  NOT  THIS  SUCCESS? 

It  was,  but  it  was  not  complete  enough  for  the 
man  who  won  it.  No ! That  successful  life  was 
not  satisfied  until  he  had  confessed  the  Chris- 
tian’s faith,  and  recommended  to  man  for  a 
guide  the  Christian’s  Bible.  For,  on  the  18th  of 
April,  1885,  on  Mount  McGregor,  he  made  this 
declaration  of  his  faith : “ I believe  in  the  Holy 

Scriptures.  Whoso  lives  by  them  will  be  benefited 
thereby.  Men  may  differ  as  to  their  interpreta- 
tion, which  is  human,  but  the  Scriptures  are  man’s 
best  guide.” 

Here  is  an  example  of 

THE  CONSOLATION  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

in  contrast  with  that  of  earthly  fame.  Here  is  a 
great  man,  who  with  an  unbiased  mind  was  in  the 
habit  of  deciding  great  questions.  Here  as  judge 
he  weighs  the  verities  of  truth  in  the  balances  of 
his  judgment.  To  remind  him  that  his  name 
would  ever  be  preserved  to  fame,  he  receives  mes- 
sages from  all  parts  of  the  world.  But  in  the 


SAVE  THE  YOUNG  MEN 


141 


midst  of  this  flood  tide  of  honors  he  turns  from 
them  all  to  testify  that  the  Bible  is  man’s  best 
guide. 

And  yet  again,  I would  have  you  think  on  this 
word  “ success.”  Success  is  secured  by  seizing  upon 
the  flying  opportunities  as  they  pass.  If  the  good 
thought  or  resolution  now  passing  in  your  mind 
is  treasured,  it  may  serve  as  a stepping-stone  to 
true  success.  The  opportunity  of  this  moment  is 
golden.  Therefore  snatch  it  from  the  current  of 
fleeting  time  lest  it  be  forever  past.  Now  with 
your  hand  on  your  heart,  and  your  eye  on  the 
throne  of  God,  let  me  pledge  you  to  success — 
success  that  will  insure  happiness  in  two  worlds, 
for  true  success  brings  happiness,  and  true  happi- 


ness is  success. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  POISONED  BEVERAGE 

What  are  you  drinking,  my  friend;  what  are 
you  drinking?  You  are  careless,  I see,  and 
thoughtless,  but  what  are  you  drinking?  You 
think  to  treat  this  matter  lightly,  but  heed  this 
warning,  and  stop  and  consider  what  you  are 
drinking.  Do  you  know  that  the  same  greed  for 
gold  that  prompts  a saloon-keeper  to  sell  liquors 
for  money,  when  he  knows  that  it  will  make  the 
drinker  a drunkard,  will  also  prompt  him  to 
adulterate  his  drinks  to  make  more  money  and 
worse  drunkards?  One  crime  begets  another, 
and  when  we  tolerate  one  sin  it  will  breed  a 
thousand  more.  There  are  facts  (secret  facts) 
known  in  the  dark  counsels  of  the  liquor  dealers 
that  are  most  astounding — facts  so  deep  dyed  in  sin 
that  only  the  seething  fires  of  hell  can  justly 
punish,  facts  that  are  deliberate  and  awful 
crimes — crimes  against  humanity  and  God, 
crimes  which  are  well-nigh  unpardonable. 

On  the  11th  of  July,  1892,  I visited  the  old 
Water  Street  Mission,  better  known  as  Jerry  Mc- 
Auley’s  Mission;  this  Mission  is  located  at  316 
142 


THE  POISONED  BEVERAGE 


143 


Water  Street,  New  York  City.  Jerry  McAuley 
has  now  been  dead  several  years,  but  the  good 
work  is  still  carried  on  by  his  successor,  Mr.  S.  H. 
Hadley.  To  give  some  idea  of  the  locality,  I will 
give  you  a description  of  it  in  Jerry  McAuley’s 
own  words: 

“ But  few  can  have  any  idea  of  the  terrible  dens 
with  which  this  wicked  locality  was  crowded.  The 
basements  were  especially  loathsome,  several  hav- 
ing particular  names,  such  as  ‘The  Well,’  ‘The 
Man-Trap,’  etc.;  they  were  merely  holes  in  the 
ground  under  the  houses  where  the  tide  backed  in 
twice  a day  at  high  water.  In  each  of  these  dark 
holes,  without  any  windows  or  outlet,  with  no 
sinks  or  anything  in  the  form  of  an  opening  for 
any  purpose  whatever,  except  the  entrance  from 
the  street,  from  four  to  six  girls  or  women,  and  as 
many  men,  used  to  live.  From  these  death  holes 
the  girls  would  come  out  and  buttonhole  men  as 
they  passed  by;  sometimes  they  would  snatch  the 
hat  from  a sailor’s  head  and 

DART  BACK  INTO  THEIR  DEN. 

“If  he  was  wise,  he  would  keep  right  on  and  let 
his  hat  go,  for  if  fool  enough  to  go  inside  it 
would  be  the  worse  for  him.  He  would  most 
likely  be  thrown  out,  after  being  beaten  and 


144 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


robbed,  if  not  murdered,  for  sometimes  men  never 
came  out  of  those  holes  alive.  The  inmates  of 
these  filthy  dens  died  off  rapidly,  but  their  places 
were  filled  right  away  by  others.  This  terrible  state 
of  things  weighed  on  my  mind  so  that  I could 
not  sleep  at  night,  but  tossed  restlessly  upon  my 
bed;  and  I felt  that  to  clear  my  conscience  I 
must  do  something  to  break  up  these  fearful 
places.  I found,  to  my  astonishment,  that  the 
owner  of  the  property  where  these  places  were 
kept  was  a very  rich  man,  living  on  Broadway, 
and  was  considered  a very  nice,  respectable  gen- 
tleman. I went  to  him  with  my  burden,  but  he 
paid  no  more  attention  to  me  than  he  would  to 
the  barking  of  a dog.  I could  not  for  the  life 
of  me  understand  how  this  fine  gentleman  could 
be  so  indifferent  to  things  that  seemed  so  terrible 
to  me.  My  astonishment  was  not  so  great  when, 
afterwards,  I found  out  that  each  of  these  holes 
brought  him  in  from  thirty  to  forty  dollars  per 
month.” 

I have  given  these  words  from  Jerry  McAuley 
to  show  two  things:  first,  the  wicked  locality  in 
which  this  Water  Street  Mission  does  its  work; 
and,  second,  how  some  men  of  good  repute  will 
sometimes  wink  at  vice,  if  they  are  making 
money  out  of  it.  But  more  as  to  this  Mission: 


THE  POISONED  BEVERAGE 


145 


It  is  truly  a light  in  a dark  place.  The  hardest 
kind  of  men  and  women  go  in  there  with  the 
hardest  kind  of  hearts,  who  live  the  hardest  kind 
of  lives;  and  accordingly  their  confessions  are 
the  hardest  kind  of  stories  of  crime.  But  as  I 
sat  there  listening  to  the  old  familiar  songs  and 

THE  OLD,  OLD  STORY, 

which  was  so  earnestly  presented  by  Mr.  S.  H. 
Hadley,  the  worthy  successor  of  Jerry  McAuley, 
I thanked  God  in  my  heart  for  such  a gospel,  and 
such  missions,  which  are  sustained  for  the  purpose 
of  saving  the  most  hardened  sinners.  And  it 
seemed  that  there  was  a greater  tenderness  in  the 
message,  and  a greater  spiritual  baptism  resting 
upon  the  messenger  for  this  greater  work,  than  in 
ordinary  gospel  meetings.  The  songs  also  sounded 
sweeter,  the  gospel  promises  dearer,  and  the 
prayers  holier.  If  ever  the  vision  of  a lost  world 
flashed  upon  my  soul,  it  was  then.  If  ever  man’s 
sinfulness  seemed  hopeless  and  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation,  it  was 
then.  If  ever  I realized  the  value  of  the  mission 
of  the  Son  of  God  among  lost  humanity,  it  was 
then. 

While  these  hallowed  thoughts  were  coursing 

through  my  mind,  my  very  soul  was  charmed  by 
10 


146 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


a mental  vision  of  a world  redeemed,  in  contrast 
with  a world  lost,  when  suddenly  the  quiet  of 
the  meeting  was  interrupted  by  the  coarse  voice 
of  a rough-looking  man  who  requested  permis- 
sion to  make  a confession.  The  story  of  his  awful 
deeds  was  enough  to  chill  one’s  life  blood.  In  his 
confession  he  said  that  his  life  of  sin  had  dogged 
him  like  a bloodhound  upon  his  track  for  years, 
and  he  could  neither  rest  nor  sleep  by  day  or  by 
night.  Then  he  said  that  he  finally  made  up  his 
mind  to  come  to  the  Mission  and  openly  confess 
his  sins  before  God  and  man,  let  the  consequences 
be  what  they  might.  Then  he  frankly  told  how 
he  had  broken  every  commandment  in  the  deca- 
logue, and  that  he  had  been  false  to  his  friends 
and  the  world.  He  said  that  he  had  been  a thief 
and  a libertine,  and  that  he  had  been  the  cause  of 
the  death  of  four  men.  “ But,”  said  he,  “ it  all  started 
from  drink.”  Then  he  gave  his  experience  as  a 
saloon-keeper,  and  told  how  he  had  followed  the 
example  of  his  competitors  by  adulterating  his 
liquors  with  the  most  deadly  poisons.  He  told 
how,  with  a few  gallons  of  whisky  and  the  addi- 
tion of  chemicals  and  water,  he  had  made 

MANY  BARRELS  OF  POISONED  WHISKY. 

He  then  gave  a long  list  of  the  deadly  poisons 


THE  POISONED  BEVERAGE 


147 


used,  including  the  following:  strychnine,  stra- 
monium, belladonna,  cocculus,  opium,  digitalis, 
dracontium,  aconite,  and  also  tobacco.  On  nam- 
ing these  deadly  poisons  there  was  a sensation, 
and  Mr.  Hadley  stopped  him  in  his  awful  story  of 
crime.  I asked  Mr.  Hadley  why  such  fiends 
in  human  form  were  not  justly  dealt  with,  when 
he  remarked  that  the  man  had  only  revealed 
what  was  commonly  known  and  practiced  by 
liquor  dealers  generally.  By  investigation  since 
then,  I have  learned  from  reliable  authority  that 
this  indictment  of  the  liquor  traffic  is  all  too  true. 
For  example,  a bushel  of  the  best  corn  will  make 
only  three  gallons  of  pure  whisky;  the  manu- 
facturer adds  a gallon  of  water  and  a few  cents’ 
worth  of  strychnine'  and  increases  the  three 
gallons  to  four;  then  the  distiller  sells  a gallon  of 
this  strychnine-whisky  to  a wholesaler  for  pure  (?) 
whisky;  the  wholesaler  then  takes  this  gallon  of 
strychnine-whisky  and  adds  another  gallon  of 
water  and  a few  cents’  worth  of  stramonium  and  a 
little  opium,  and  he  has  two  gallons;  this  he  sells 
to  the  retailer  for  pure  (?)  whisky;  the  retailer  then 
takes  a gallon  of  this  strychnine-,  stramonium-,  and 
opium-whisky  and  adds  three  gallons  of  water, 
and  a few  cents’  worth  of  belladonna  and  some 
other  ingredients  to  give  color  and  make  it  hot, 


148  . 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


so  as  to  conceal  the  taste  of  these  poisons,  and 
then  he  sells  this  strychnine-stramonium-opium- 
belladonna-whisky  to  you  and  your  boys,  and  your 
neighbor  and  your  neighbor’s  boys  for  pure(?) 
whisky  at  ten  cents  a glass,  and  you  drink  it 
down  without  a question,  and  think  you  get 
drunk  on  pure  (?)  old  rye  whisky. 

THE  AWFUL  WOE  AND  WRETCHEDNESS 

Which  we  see  pictured  on  the  faces  of  drunkards 
of  to-day  was  not  all  stamped  there  by  liquor 
alone.  To  the  bad  effects  of  liquor  we  see  added 
the  worse  effects  of  deadly  poisons.  This  adulter- 
ation is  carried  on  so  extensively  that  it  is  well- 
nigh  impossible  to  stop  this  tide  of  evil.  Whisky, 
rum,  gin,  brandies,  and  wines  of  all  kinds,  and 
also  beer,  are  so  adulterated  that  a “ pure  article ” 
is  rarely  to  be  found.  Why  do  men  adulterate 
liquors?  Why?  For  the  money  there  is  in  it, 
of  course.  Why  do  men  drink  it  without  investi- 
gation ? Simply  because  they  want  something  to 
“make  the  drunk  come”;  and,  judging  from  the 
effects  they  feel  from  drinking,  they  believe  they 
have  drunk  pure  (?)  whisky  because  it  “makes 
the  drunk  come  ” satisfactorily.  It  is  the  alcohol 
in  the  drink  that  “makes  the  drunk  come,”  and 
the  liquor  venders,  knowing  this,  use  these  power- 


THE  POISONED  BEVERAGE 


149 


ful  poisons  because  they  produce  similar  effects  to 
drunkenness.  “Alcohol  is  an  irritant,  or  stimu- 
lating poison,  vegetable  in  its  origin,  and  narcotic 
in  its  tendency”;  and  as  a substitute  the  liquor 
vender  uses  such  other  deadly  poisons  as  will 
irritate  and  stimulate  and  deceive  the  drinker, 
and  make  him  believe  that  it  is  alcohol  that 
has  made  “ the  drunk  come.”  Why  is  such 
wholesale  deception  and  fraud  tolerated  in  the 
liquor  traffic?  why,  when  it  produces  wide- 
spread destruction  to  the  health  and  life  of  man- 
kind? 

A patrol-wagon  drove  up  to  the  door  of  a Chi- 
cago saloon;  the  door  opened  and  the  officers  car- 
ried out  a dead  man,  and  he  was  carted  off  to  the 
morgue,  and  from  thence  to  the  potter’s  field  with 
no  more  concern  than  if  he  had  been  a dead  dog. 
The  coroner’s  verdict  was  that  he  died  from  the 
effects  of  liquor,  when  the  real  fact  was  that 
he  had  actually  died  of  poison  in  his  liquor. 
A man  standing  by,  and  who  witnessed  the 
scene,  said,  “This  makes  the  third  man  who 
has  been  carried  out  dead  from  that  saloon  within 
a month.”  These  are  facts,  not  fiction  nor  specu- 
lation; facts  known  so  well  that  they  scarcely 
need  to  be  repeated. 

Is  there  not  yet  left  enough 


150 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


AMERICAN  MANHOOD  AND  HONOR 

to  banish  this  accursed  plague  from  our  land  ? Is 
there  not  yet  left  enough  courage  to  wipe  out  this 
abomination  of  desolation  ? Is  there  not  yet  left 
enough  honor  and  manhood  among  a free  people 
to  protect  the  health  and  life  of  its  citizens? 
Awake  to  duty,  0 ye  free  and  liberty-loving 
people,  and  come  to  the  rescue  of  weak  and 
fallen  humanity,  and  defend  at  whatever  cost  the 
rising  generation  from  the  curse  of  liquor,  and 
the  curse  of  poisoned  drink. 

You  say  that  you  are  willing  to  fight  with  me 
against  the  sale  and  use  of  poisoned  drinks,  but 
that  we  must  regulate  the  sale  of  pure  (?)  liquors. 
We  have  been  trying  to  do  that  very  thing  for 
over  a century,  and  we  have  found  the  regulating 
method  to  be  a stupendous  failure,  as  was  the 
regulation  of  slavery.  Our  nation  never  awoke  to 
the  plague  of  slavery  until  we  saw  that  the  blood 
of  the  white  race  was  being  mixed  with  the  blood 
of  the  black  race.  It  was  not  until  the  white 
man  saw  traces  of  his  own  flesh  and  blood  standing 
on  the  auction  block  that  he  grew  hot  with  rage; 
it  was  not  until  the  slave-driver’s  whip  drew 
white  blood  with  the  black  that  slavery  in  his  eyes 
became  a crime  .against  humanity  no  longer  to 
be  tolerated;  it  was  not  until  the  shining  dollars 


THE  POISONED  BEVERAGE 


151 


from  the  sons  of  honest  fathers  became  mixed 
with  the  dollars  of  the  common  gambler  and 
flowed  into  the  treasury  of  the  Louisiana  State 
Lottery,  that  the  hand  of  Uncle  Sam  reached  forth 
and  wiped  out  that  accursed  lottery  plague.  And 
it  will  not  be  until  the  fathers  of  to-day  see  their 
sons  reeling  home  drunk  from  poison  mixed  with 
their  own  life  blood  that  they  will  awake  to  duty 
and  fight  this  seventh  plague  of  our  land. 

The  distilleries,  you  know,  feed  cattle  and  hogs 
with  the  malt  and  slops  from  the  stills.  Several 
distillers  in  Ohio  found  that  their  hogs  were 
dying  from  the  strychnine  in  the  slops.  They 
quit  feeding  the  strychnine-slops  to  the  hogs,  but 
kept  right  on  making  strychnine-whisky  for  the 
boys.  What  may  we  expect  from  the  dealings  of 
a just  God  if  we  do  not  take  as  much  interest  in 
the  protection  and  salvation  of  our  boys  as  the 
distiller  does  in  his  hogs.  Remember,  oh,  remem- 
ber, that  “ the  thunder-bolts  of  God  are  hot.”  For 
if  we  neglect  our  duty — just  neglect — how  shall 
we  escape  the  just  judgments  of  God  ? The  prob- 
lem of  problems  is  before  us:  how  shall  we 
solve  it?  The  evil  of  evils  and  the  crime  of 
crimes  is  sweeping  over  us.  Is  there  no  help? 
The  plague  is  in  the  camp.  How  shall  we  escape  ? 
We  cannot  afford  to  be  silent  or  indifferent.  We 


152 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


must  not  delay.  We  dare  not  trifle  with  destiny. 
Sooner  or  later  we  must  decide  for  weal  or  woe. 
Sooner  or  later  this  life-and-death  contest  must 
be  waged.  Sooner  or  later  we  shall  perish  if  we 
do  not  rise  in  our  strength  and  strive  for  triumph- 
ant victory. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  SLAVERY  OF  APPETITE 

“I  can  drink,  or  I can  let  it  alone.”  Yes,  that 
has  been  the  declaration  of  many  a bright  young 
man, — “I  can  drink,  or  I can  let  it  alone,  because 
I am  not  as  weak  as  that  old  drunkard.”  So,  in 
the  boasted  strength  of  his  young  manhood, 
he  dashes  into  the  future,  self-confident  and  self- 
willed;  he  will  not  take  counsel;  he  does  not  care 
for  consequences;  he  recklessly  defies  fate.  No 
one  who  knows  of  the  pitfall  of  temptation  that 
opens  just  the  other  side  of  the  first  drink, 
will  ever  turn  heedlessly  from  good  counsel.  Any 
young  man  who  says,  “ I can  drink,  or  I can  let  it 
alone,”  will  find  that  he  will  either  have  to  begin 
to  let  it  alone  very  decidedly,  and  then  leave 
it  alone,  or  he  will  soon  acquire  an  appetite  that 
will  finally  make  him  its  slave.  Appetite,  once 
formed,  is  very  hard  to  control.  There  is  some- 
thing grand  and  heroic  in  the  manly  struggle  of 
a man  against  a strong  temptation  and  a craving 
appetite.  There  is  no  one  who  does  not  pity  a man 
who  is  fighting  such  a battle.  Whether  they 
are  weak  or  strong,  is  not  the  question.  The 
153 


154 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


only  question  is,  Is  he  in  danger  of  falling,  does 
he  need  help,  will  he  be  lost  if  he  is  not  helped? 
This  is  the  question  with  which  we  are  confronted 
as  workers  for  humanity’s  good.  But  there  are 
some  who  have  become  such  slaves  to  the  power 
of  appetite  that,  do  what  we  may  for  them,  we 
cannot  pursuade  them  to  leave  off  the  habit  of 
drinking.  This  is  why  we  plead  so  earnestly 
with  young  men  never  to  drink. 

As  I go  about  in  my  work  of  rescue,  it  is  often 
with  a breaking  heart.  It  is  not  because  I do  not 
see  the  sunshine;  it  is  not  because  of  any  per- 
sonal sorrow  that  has  come  upon  my  own  heart,  but 
it  is  because  I see  the  feet  of  somebody’s  boy  slip- 
ping into  ruin.  And,  as  I see  somebody’s  boy  falling, 
I think  of  my  own  dear  boys,  now  young  and  in- 
nocent, and  pure,  and  happy.  Noble  and  good 
boys  like  my  own  are  in  danger,  and  I feel  con- 
strained to  help  them.  I am  thrust  out  by  these 
thoughts  into  this  sinful  world,  and  prompted  to 
active  effort  in  their  behalf.  I must,  if  possible, 
rescue  them  from  a drunkard’s  grave  and  a drunk- 
ard’s hell.  Yes,  I am  willing  to  give  the  best  out 
of  my  life  to  rescue  somebody’s  boy,  because  time 
is  very  long,  and,  as  I reflect,  the  thought  grows 
larger  in  my  mind.  And  when  in  the  moment 
of  some  great  temptation  I am  not  near  to  protect 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  APPETITE 


155 


my  own  dear  boys,  I daily  pray  that  God  will 
raise  up  some  one  in  like  manner  to  protect  my 
boys.  Think  of  that  young  man,  the  idol  of  ten- 
derest  affection,  whom  a mother  has  fondly 
caressed,  and  a father  faithfully  taught,  and  a 
host  of  kind  friends  have  prayed  for, — think  of 
such  a young  man  being  bound  by  the  slavery  of 
appetite. 

An  incident  from  real  life  now  comes  before  me. 

MY  FRIEND  MACK. 

I forbear  giving  his  full  name,  for  his  friends’ 
sake,  for  their  hearts  have  been  made  sad  enough 
by  his  reckless  life  and  repeated  falls,  and  I spare 
them  further  heart  pangs  by  omitting  the  family 
name.  Mack  was  a bright  boy  in  youth  and 
brilliant  as  a star  in  young  manhood.  Christian 
parents  and  cultured  and  respectable  brothers  and 
sisters  cheered  him  on  with  lavished  words  of 
praise.  Prayer  and  hallowed  associations  sur- 
rounded him  with  an  atmosphere  sacred  and 
beneficent.  A brother,  his  boyhood  companion, 
became  a gifted  and  successful  minister  of  the 
gospel.  A sister,  now  married,  lives  in  a palatial 
home  in  Chicago.  The  family  name  is  the  syno- 
nym of  honor.  All  these  blessings  were  his,  yet 
he  became  a prodigal.  He  was  a graduate  of 


156 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


three  colleges.  He  was  skilled  in  music  and 
educated  for  two  professions.  At  one  time  he 
drew  a salary  of  $3,000  a year,  with  every  en- 
couragement for  advancement  if  he  would  but 
give  up  drinking.  Many  a time  have  I heard 
him  say,  “ I was  one  of  the  boys  who  boasted  that 
I could  drink  or  let  it  alone.”  When  he  said  this 
to  me  he  was  a wreck;  he  was  then  trying  to  let 
it  alone,  but  he  could  not.  Then  it  was  that  he 
regretted  his  reckless  life  of  dissipation,  but  it  was 
then  an  almost  hopeless  struggle. 

He  told  me  in  these  words  how  he  was  induced 
to  take  his  first  drink: 

“ I was  on  my  way  home  from  Sunday 
school  one  day  and  passed  the  open  door  of 
a saloon  [to  have  the  saloon  doors  open  on 
Sunday  is  in  violation  of  the  State  law  of 
Illinois,  but  Chicago  saloon-keepers  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  it],  and  it  seemed  that  an  evil  spirit  said 
to  me,  ‘Look  in  at  that  door.’  As  I looked  in, 
the  bartender  hailed  me,  and  in  pleasant  smiles 
and  persuasive  tones  invited  me  to  ‘come  in.’ 
Entering  the  door,  I stepped  up  to  the  bar  and 
stood  talking  for  a moment  with  the  bartender, 
when  he  turned  and  handed  me  a drink.  [It  is 
in  violation  of  the  State  law  of  Illinois  to  sell  to 
minors,  but  the  Chicago  saloon-keepers  pay  no 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  APPETITE 


157 


attention  to  it.]  Under  the  same  influence,  as  it 
seemed,  of  that  evil  spirit,  I put  the  liquor  to  my 
lips.  I did  not  like  either  its  smell  or  taste,  and 
was  about  to  put  it  down  without  drinking  it, 
when  the  saloon-keeper  spoke  up  and  said,  ‘Oh, 
drink  it  down;  it  won’t  cost  such  a good-looking 
boy  as  you  are  anything.’  I knew  my 

PARENTS  WOULD  BE  HEART-BROKEN 

if  they  knew  I was  beginning  to  drink,  but  I dis- 
missed the  troublesome  thought  from  my  mind 
with  the  remark  to  myself,  ‘I  can  drink,  or  I 
can  let  it  alone.’  As  I passed  out,  the  saloon- 
keeper said  with  a smile,  ‘Come  again,  my  little 
man.’  The  taste  of  the  liquor,  mingled  with  the 
declaration  of  the  saloon-keeper  that  I was  a * little 
man,’  had  a stimulating  effect,  and,  though  only 
twelve  years  old,  a conceited  thought,  born  of  the 
devil,  prompted  me  to  feel  some  way  that  I was 
more  of  a man  than  I had  before  realized.  A 
‘little  man.’  There  was  a witchery  about  this  re- 
mark, a * little  man,'  that  I had  not  before  experi- 
enced,— no  doubt  due  solely  to  the  effects  of  the 
whisky, — and  after  that  I grew  to  look  upon  the 
Sunday  school  as  the  place  for  women  and  children, 
and  the  saloon  (always  crowded  with  men)  as  the 
place  for  men,  men  who  could  ‘ drink  and  let  it  alone.' 


258 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


“I  kept  these  thoughts  and  the  act  of  this 
first  drink  from  my  parents,  a secret  of  the  evil 
spirit’s  prompting,  and  soon  my  dimes  and  nickels 
were  going  over  the  bar  into  the  smiling  saloon- 
keeper’s till,  while  the  taste  for  liquor  daily 
grew  stronger.  Being  advanced  for  one  of  my 
years,  I was  early  given  the  advantages  of  college 
training,  and  this  took  me  away  from  the  watch- 
ful care  of  parents  and  home.  There  I became 
more  frequent  in  my  secret  visits  to  the  wine  and 
club  rooms  [places,  by  the  way,  where  the  deck  of 
cards,  the  devil’s  guide-book  to  hell,  takes  the 
place  of  the  Holy  Bible,  God’s  guide-book  to 
heaven],  and  there  with  boon  companions  I played 
my  first  game  of  progressive  euchre  for  the  drinks. 
Gradually  I left  off  going  to  church,  and  as  I 
graduated  from  college  and  went  out  into  the  world 
for  myself  I soon  also  graduated  from  the  church, 
and  for  eight  years  I did  not  step  inside  of  a 
church.  All  these  years  I lived  a gay  and  reckless 
life,  drinking,  drinking,  drinking,  yet  consoling 
myself  with  the  deceitful  thought,  ‘ I can  drink,  or 
1 can  let  it  alone.’  I married  a beautiful  and 
lovely  woman,  to  whom  I promised  to  give  up 
drinking  if  she  would  become  my  wife.  But  now, 
through  drink,  that  home  is  in  ruins,  my  whole  life 
has  been  blighted,  and  I fear  I shall  be  finally  lost.” 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  APPETITE 


159 


There  is  no  telling  where  a boy  will  stop  when 
he  has  once  acquired  an  appetite  for  liquor. 
There  is  something  about  the  slavery  of  appe- 
tite that  is  most  degrading.  There  is  no  brute 
that  will  get  down  lower  than  the  man  who  has 
become 

A SLAVE  TO  APPETITE. 

When  a man  has  once  become  a slave  to  drink, 
his  moral  sensibilities  also  become  dulled,  his 
reason  unbalanced,  his  conscience  seared,  and  he 
loses  his  manhood.  Mack’s  case  is  but  an  illus- 
tration of  thousands  of  others.  This  is  no  fancy 
sketch,  but  it  is  as  real  as  life.  He  was  only  thirty- 
three,  and  his  hair  was  yet  raven  black,  his  eyes 
yet  sparkling  with  dashing  brilliancy,  and  his 
brain  active  in  thought  when  not  stupefied  with 
drink.  Well  do  I remember  the  eight  weeks  in 
which  he  fought  against  his  appetite  like  a hero. 
He  was  of  that  temperament  that  everything 
which  he  undertook  was  accomplished  with  a 
dash  of  genius.  He  possessed  powers  which, 
when  turned  to  good,  charmed  into  admiration 
every  one  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  One 
night,  when  passing  Sunshine  Mission,  located  on 
West  Madison  Street,  Chicago,  and  hearing  the 
sound  of  music,  he  entered;  and,  though  stupefied 
by  drink,  his  heart  was  moved  to  thoughts  of  a 


160 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


better  life.  He  came  forward  and  signed  the 
pledge.  Until  that  night,  for  eight  years  he 
had  not  entered  the  door  of  a church  or  a mis- 
sion. The  memories  of  early  life  in  Sunday 
school  and  church  came  back  to  him  like  a flood 
tide.  He  went  away  and  entered  the  old  home, 
from  which  he  had  been  a stranger,  a wandering 
prodigal  for  years.  His  father  was  lying  upon 
his  deathbed,  but  received  him  with  a forgiving 
father’s  heart.  His  father  had  him  kneel  at  his 
bedside,  as  he  used  to  when  he  was  a little  boy; 
and  then  the  dear  old  saint  reached  out  his  thin, 
bony  hand  and  rested  it  on  his  prodigal  boy’s 
head  and  prayed  for  God  to  save  him  from  a 
drunkard’s  grave.  It  was  an  affecting  scene.  It 
was  a scene  to  move  the  hardest  heart.  It  was  a 
fitting  illustration  of  the  returning  prodigal.  He 
went  back  to  the  Mission  again,  and  night  after 
night  he  labored  to  rescue  others  like  himself 
who  had  fallen.  When  he  sat  down  to  the  organ 
it  seemed  to  have  breathed  into  it  a soul.  His 
voice,  once  cultured  and  melodious,  though  hav- 
ing lost  some  of  its  sweetness  through  drink,  still 
possessed  enchanting  charms,  and,  as  he  played  and 
sang,  all  were  thrilled  with  delight.  But,  oh,  that 
appetite ! that  awful  appetite ! Like  a hound  upon 
his  track,  it  still  followed  him.  He  had  tried 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  APPETITE 


161 


every  known  remedy,  and  had  been  to  fourteen  in- 
stitutions for  the  cure  of  inebriates,  including  the 
famous  Keeley  Gold  Cure,  but  all  to  no  perma- 
nent good. 

I KNEW  OF  HIS  STRUGGLE 

for  eight  weeks,  as  he  fought  to  free  himself  from 
the  slavery  of  appetite.  Night  after  night  he 
would  shut  himself  up  in  his  room  and  lock  the 
door,  while  the  furious  appetite  burned  within 
him  like  the  fires  of  hell.  Then  again,  he  would 
go  out  upon  the  street,  and  walk  for  many  weary 
hours  of  the  night  to  quiet  the  throbbing  of  his 
fevered  brain.  And  thus  he  would  battle  on,  day 
after  day  and  night  after  night,  to  subdue  his 
craving  passion  for  drink. 

O you  who  are  young,  take  warning,  for  it  is 
perilous  to  trifle  with  the  intoxicating  cup!  It  is 
easy  to  start  drinking,  but  it  is  hard  to  stop.  It 
is  pleasant  to  sip  the  wine-cup  at  first,  but  it  is 
bitter  to  drink  the  dregs  of  sorrow  at  the  last. 
It  is  thought  to  be  the  cup  of  joy  while  going  the 
giddy  rounds  of  pleasure,  but  it  is  found  to  be 
the  cup  of  woe  and  death  as  one  nears  a drunk- 
ard’s grave.  0 you  who  are  young,  with  life’s 
golden  years  before  you,  seek  your  pleasure  out- 
side of  the  tempting  cup!  Be  content  to  seek 
u 


162 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


your  happiness  where  it  will  reflect  honor  upon 
your  home  and  your  true  and  tried  friends.  Be 
a true  man, — honest,  temperate,  and  pure.  Be 
sure  that  no  temptation  or  appetite  or  passion 
makes  of  you  a slave.  There  is  a duty  resting 
upon  every  good  and  loyal  citizen.  It  is  a shock- 
ing shame  that  this  nation,  which  so  loves  freedom 
and  liberty,  should  be  in  partnership  with  the 
crime  of  crimes,  the  liquor  traffic,  and  that  we 
should  sanction  the  selling  of  boys  to  rumshops 
cheaper  than  ever  slaves  were  sold  to  the  cotton- 
planter.  It  is  a disgrace  to  our  enlightened  civil- 
ization that  we  do  not  protect  our  boys  from  the 
plague  of  strong  drink,  which  is  often  mixed 
with  chemicals  that  are  deadly  poisons.  It  is  a 
crime  for  which  God  Almighty  will  hold  this 
nation  responsible  as  certainly  as  he  formerly 
held  us  responsible  for  the  curse  of  human 
slavery. 


CHAPTER  XII 
MAKE  HASTE  TO  THE  RESCUE 

Drink  was  his  ruin.  Clarence  was  his  name. 
He  was  my  companion  in  youth,  my  classmate 
at  school,  my  boyhood  friend.  Together  we  played, 
the  happiest  of  boys.  Together  we  studied  and 
recited  our  lessons  at  school.  Together  we  grew  up 
to  young  manhood.  His  father  was  once  a minister, 
but  somehow  he  took  to  moderate  drinking,  and 
finally  drifted  into  infidelity.  Clarence,  who 
was  the  bright  boy  of  the  family,  was  the  fa- 
vorite, and  his  father  indulged  his  every  wish. 
He  often  went  to  town,  and  with  other  fast  young 
men  he  became  a frequent  visitor  at  the  saloon, 
where  he  took  his  occasional  glass.  Then  he 
tried  his  hand  at  pool  and  cards.  Well  do  I 
remember  the  time  when  his  father’s  attention 
was  called  to  his  boy’s 

FIRST  WAYWARD  STEPS. 

But  the  father  gave  orders  to  the  saloon-keeper 
of  the  town  to  let  his  boy  have  all  the  liquor  he 
wanted  whenever  he  desired  a drink, — for  Clarence 
at  that  time  was  a minor, — and  then  he  announced 
163 


164 


LOST  AND  RESCUED 


to  all  who  were  concerned  about  his  boy,  that  he 
would  demonstrate  to  other  neighboring  fathers 
that  the  best  way  to  cure  a boy  of  drinking 
habits  was  to  let  him  have  all  the  liquor  he 
wanted.  But,  oh,  the  sad,  sad  consequences  that 
followed.  At  twenty-one  he  was  a hard  drinker. 
At  twenty-three  he  had  drank  himself  out  of  the 
best  society,  where  formerly  his  brilliant  talents 
made  him  shine  like  a star.  At  twenty-five  he 
reeled  along  the  streets  a common,  bloated,  drunk- 
en sot,  a horse  trader,  a poker  player,  and  a 
wretched,  ruined  wreck.  This  is  not  fiction  that 
I am  writing  for  you  to  read.  Nay,  verily;  it  is 
every  word  true  to  life,  so  true  that  I wish  I could 
forget  it,  and  erase  it  from  the  records  of  memory. 
Oh,  if  you  knew  how  my  heart  was  pained  as  my 
eyes  beheld  this  tragedy  take  place  during  those 
years  as  they  passed,  those  years  so  vivid  now  in 
living  memories.  Oh,  if  you  only  knew  how  my 
heart  beat  with  sympathy  for  that  companion  of 
my  boyhood,  whose  young  life  had  been  an  in- 
spiration, so  happy  and  gay  was  he.  Oh,  if  you 
only  knew  how  the  memory  of  that  precious  life, 
wrecked  and  ruined  by  drink,  has  urged  me  on 
to  duty  through  all  these  years,  you  would  then 
understand  why  I am  so  much  in  earnest  to  pre- 
vent young  men  from  likewise  falling,  and  why  I 


MAKE  HASTE  TO  THE  RESCUE 


165 


so  earnestly  seek  to  rescue  the  lost.  The  marvel 
to  me  is  that  this  evil,  this  drinking  custom,  of 
our  time  is  not  hated  to  death  instead  of  being 
fostered  and  tolerated. 

VICTIM  AFTER  VICTIM  GOES  DOWN, 

and  the  lives  of  thousands  are  yearly  sacrificed 
because  of  strong  drink.  The  best  of  our  homes 
are  saddened  and  the  brightest  of  our  young  men 
are  ruined  because  of  the  ravages  of  this  plague. 
The  shoes  are  taken  off  the  feet,  the  coat  off  the 
back,  and  the  bread  is  taken  out  of  the  mouths  of 
the  hungry  because  of  drink,  and  yet  men  will 
drink,  drink,  drink. 

The  fact  now  confronts  us,  that  a plague  has 
sprung  up  in  our  land  like  unto  the  seventh 
plague  of  ancient  Egypt,  and  its  breath  of  death 
is  filling  the  very  air  we  breathe.  Beware  of  this 
seventh  plague.  Oh,  that  God  would  burn  this 
warning  into  every  heart,  engrave  it  on  the  earth 
beneath,  and  paint  it  on  the  sky  above ! Oh,  that 
men  would  know  and  understand  its  meaning 
and  act  and  live  accordingly ! Oh,  for  conviction 
deeply  impressed  upon  the  soul,  that  will  he  crys- 
tallized into  action!  “Look  not  thou  upon  the 
wine  when  it  is  red,  when  it  giveth  his  color  in 
the  cup,  when  it  moveth  itself  aright:  at  the  last 


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it  biteth  like  a serpent,  and  stingeth  like  an  adder.” 
This  is  a sufficient  reason  for  the  most  ardent 
enthusiasm  in  seeking  out  and  rescuing  the 
fallen  who  are  sinking  to  the  depths.  Be  quick, 
delay  not,  make  haste. 

“to  prevent  is  better  than  to  cure.” 

By  all  legitimate  means  we  should  prevent  our 
brothers  from  falling.  Our  first  thought  should 
be,  Prevent.  Our  second  thought  should  be,  pre- 
vent. Our  third  thought  should  be,  PREVENT. 
And  acting  upon  our  serious  thought  we  should 
make  every  effort  to  prevent,  and  thereby  avoid 
the  necessity  of  resorting  to  a cure.  Loud,  and  clear, 
and  long  should  be  sounded  this  warning  in  the 
ears  of  every  boy  in  the  land:  Beware,  beware 

of  strong  drink ! Take  care  of  the  boys,  for  the 
saloons  can  no  more  exist  without  boys  than  a 
sawmill  can  run  without  logs.  Boys  are  wanted 
to  support  the  business  of  the  saloons.  The  old 
topers  are  wasting  their  lives  and  their  money, 
and  are  dying  off.  They  are  not  wanted.  They 
are  no  longer  profitable.  They  must  move  out 
and  move  on,  and  take  their  places  with  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  hundred  thousand  who 
are  yearly  filling  drunkards’  graves.  The  com- 
mand is  issued:  “Go  out,  old  drunkards;  come 


MAKE  HASTE  TO  THE  RESCUE 


167 


in,  young  men”;  and  they  go,  and  they  come. 
If  the 

OLD  CROP  OF  DRUNKARDS 

would  die  off  and  that  would  be  the  end  of  it, 
we  might  hope  for  a better  day,  a brighter  future, 
and  an  end  to  this  harvest  of  woe.  But  what  of 
the  future?  Will  the  better  days  ever  come? 
Will  this  harvest  of  woe  ever  end?  Hear  the 
wailing  cry  of  humanity.  Pleading  wives  and 
children  hold  out  their  helpless  hands.  Do  you 
see  them?  Homes  once  happy,  now  in  ruins  — 
do  you  see  them  ? Whole  families,  bitten  by  the 
serpent  and  dying  of  the  plague,  cry  out  for  help. 
Do  you  hear  them  ? Whole  cities  and  States  and 
nations  over  the  earth  are  mourning  for  their 
thousands  upon  thousands  slain.  Do  you  hear 
them?  This  wail  of  woe  comes  up  like  the 
sound  of  many  waters  and  the  peals  of  distant 
thunder.  Then  speak,  O messengers  of  truth, 
and  with  the  loud-sounding  trumpet  to  your  lips 
proclaim  the  alarm.  Let  every  heart  be  quick 
to  respond,  and  every  hand  ready  to  work,  that 
we  may  warn  in  time  the  youth,  save  the  precious 
homes  from  ruin,  and  rescue  the  fallen — the 
fallen,  but  not  yet  lost.  In  the  social  circle  be 
bold  to  speak,  “Look  not  thou  upon  the  wine.” 
Look  not  upon  the  enticing  fiery  red.  Be  not 


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tempted  to  risk  your  future  with  poison  mixed 
with  your  life  blood.  “Look  not  thou  upon  the 
wine.”  “Touch  not;  taste  not;  handle  not.”  Put 
it  far  from  thee,  that  thou  mayest  escape 

THE  CERTAIN  CONSEQUENCES 

that  inevitably  follow  its  use.  What  consequences? 
Are  you  mad  ? Are  you  a stranger  to  the  woes  of 
intemperance?  Are  you  awake,  or  dreaming? 
What  consequences?  The  bite  of  the  serpent,  the 
sting  of  the  adder;  the  sting,  the  more  bitter  sting 
of  regret;  the  blood  poisoned;  the  brain  on  fire; 
the  soul  dwarfed  and  blighted,  and  finally  lost. 
See  yonder  young  man — the  idol  of  his  parents, 
the  pride  of  his  home.  Honored  and  pure,  he 
stands  charmed  by  thoughts  of  love  and  happi- 
ness. At  his  feet  crouches  a deadly  serpent  that 
he  does  not  see,  the  harm  of  which  he  does  not 
know.  With  wicked  eyes  it  is  drawing  back  its 
vicious  head  preparing  for  the  deadly  leap.  You 
see  it,  with  mouth  open,  tongue  extended,  and 
eyes  fired  with  the  wickedness  of  hell.  You  see 
its  deadly  fangs  ready  to  mix  its  poison  with  that 
young  man’s  life  blood.  You  see  it  all.  But 
why  do  you  stand  idly  by,  with  never  a word  of 
warning,  with  never  an  effort  to  rescue ! Are  you 
charmed  by  the  serpent’s  subtle  power  ? Break, 


MAKE  HASTE  TO  THE  RESCUE 


169 


oh,  break  the  charm  and  strike  that  serpent  down ! 
Why,  oh!  why,  are  you  blind?  Are  you  deaf? 
Are  you  dumb?  Go  to  his  defense!  Go  to  his 
rescue ! Make  haste,  lest  he  perish ! The  chilled 
blood  runs  icy  through  the  veins,  the  heart 
throbs  like  a beating  drum,  the  cold  sweat  drops 
trembling  from  the  brow.  Your  presence  of  mind 
returns;  you  shriek  a warning  cry  that  startles 
him  from  his  fancied  dreams.  Awakened,  he 
sees  his  perilous  danger.  Sin’s  magic  charm  is 
broken,  and  the  young  man  is  rescued — he  is 
saved. 

THOUSANDS  OP  OTHER  YOUNG  MEN 

would  likewise  be  grateful  for  your  interest,  your 
earnest  warning,  and  your  kindly  help  in  time 
of  need.  Go  stand  on  the  crater  of  a seething 
volcano,  go  walk  on  the  crust  of  a sea  of  molten 
lava,  go  dance  on  a wire  over  the  flames  of  a 
heated  furnace,  rather  than  trifle  with  liquid  hell- 
fire  and  expect  to  escape  unharmed.  This  is  why 
we  warn  the  young  and  admonish  the  old;  this  is 
why  we  plead  for  you  to  never  press  the  poisonous 
beverage  to  your  lips;  this  is  why  we  plead  with 
ceaseless  importunity  to  win  the  fallen  back  to 
sober  lives, — because  there  is  no  hell  that  burns 
so  furiously  as  the  drunkard’s  hell.  No  unkind 


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words  have  I for  the  unfortunate  drunkard  if  he 
really  is  an  unfortunate;  no  hatred  is  in  my 
heart — no  desire  to  do  him  harm.  But  I have 
something  to  say  to  you  if  you  are  rushing  madly 
to  certain  ruin.  I have  this  to  say:  Beware! 
Beware,  lest  you  wake  up  sometime,  somewhere, 
hopelessly  lost  to  all  the  appeals  of  reform.  And 
I have  something  to  say  to  you  if  you  can  pre- 
vent a brother’s  fall  and  will  not  do  it.  I have 
this  to  say: 

beware!  beware! 

Beware,  lest  you  wake  up  sometime,  somewhere, 
in  a hell  seven  times  more  furious  than  the 
drunkard’s  hell.  I only  wish  that  I might  use 
milder  terms.  I only  wish  that  the  truth  might 
be  couched  in  more  pleasing  language.  I only 
wish  that  sin  were  not  so  black — the  sin  of  neglect. 
But  sin  is  sin,  and  the  thunderbolts  of  truth  are 
hot  when  they  come  from  the  Sinai  of  God.  And 
because  deep  ruin  is  so  fathomless,  and  because 
no  one  can  rescue  the  finally  lost  from  those 
depths, — because  of  this  rigid  truth  I must  say, 
“What  I have  written  I have  written.”  We  are 
now  living  in  the  golden  age  of  opportunity. 
The  wide  world  was  never  so  ripe  as  now  for  a 
harvest.  The  churches  of  all  the  creeds,  and  the 


MAKE  HASTE  TO  THE  RESCUE 


171 


young  people’s  societies  of  all  the  churches,  and 
all  the  temperance  societies  of  every  type  should 
unite  against  this  common  foe.  If  all  the  tem- 
perance and  Christian  workers  will  do  their  full 
duty,  this  land  may  be  made  a changed  land 
within  the  next  ten  years.  From  the  ranks  of 
the  youth  alone  an  army  can  be  enlisted  that 
will  make  the 

STRONGHOLDS  OP  RUM  VERILY  TREMBLE. 

In  the  faint  murmur  of  distant  voices  do  you 
not  hear  the  good  news  of  a near  redemption  ? 
In  the  signs  of  the  times  do  you  not  see  omens  of 
a brighter  future  ? In  the  uplifted  cross  do  you 
not  behold  the  early  coming  of  the  better  king- 
dom? O suffering  and  dying  ones,  look  and 
live!  Look,  0 unfortunate  ones  that  are  bitten 
by  the  serpent  and  stung  by  the  adder!  O 
plague-smitten  race,  there  is  life  for  a look  at  the 
uplifted  Christ. 

Nelson,  at  Trafalgar,  spoke  these  memorable 
words:  “England  expects  every  man  to  do  his 

duty.”  And  in  doing  our  duty  let  us  remember 
these  words  of  Jesus  to  his  disciples:  “Verily, 

verily,  I say  unto  you,  He  that  believeth  on  me, 
the  works  that  I do  shall  he  do  also;  and  greater 
works  than  these  shall  he  do.  If  ye 


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LOST  AND  RESCUED 


shall  ask  any  thing  in  my  name,  I will  do  it.”  Let 
this  prayer  then  go  up  from  every  Christian 
heart:  “0  Jesus,  the  Christ,  thou  Son  of  God, 

grant  that  this  seventh  plague  be  removed  from 
our  land.”  For  the  removal  of  this  plague  let 
ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  hearts  and 
voices  pray,  of  every  tongue  and  kindred,  of 
every  church  and  creed,  of  every  age,  both 
young  and  old.  For  it  ought  to  be  done;  it  can  be 
done;  it  will  be  done.  If  we  do  our  duty,  God 
will  do  the  rest. 


Gospel  temperance  Extension, 


Pledge  lor  a Inion  of  Dll  Gospel  and  Temperance  workers. 


Motto:  “ Rescue  the  Lost/9 


Pledging  myself  to  abstain  from  the  use  of 
all  Intoxicating  Liquors  as  a beverage,  I promise, 
God  helping  me,  to  do  all  I possibly  can — 

In  all  the  ways  I can, 

As  long  as  ever  I can, 

To  rescue  all  the  people  I can, 

Prom  sin  and  the  evils  of  intemperance! 

NAMES. 


Note. — Sign  this  pledge,  and  get  three  others  to  sign  it,  who  will 
promise  to  get  three  others  to  sign  it,  who  in  turn  will  promise  to 
get  three  others  to  sign,  etc.  In  this  way  it  is  hoped  to  extend  this 
Gospel  Temperance  Movement  until  it  shall  girdle  the  globe. 

173 


